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The Center for Disability Rights is committed to enforcing and expanding Disability Rights, not only statewide and nationally, but also in our own backyard. We have been working hard on making Rochester a more accessible, disability friendly city. This past year we were thrilled when we partnered with Mayor Warren and the City of Rochester for our “Clear the Snow so All Can Go” initiative to ensure everyone shoveled their sidewalks so that they would be clear and accessible to everyone. As a part of this initiative Mayor Warren and her team truly demonstrated their commitment to the Disability Community by making Rochester a more accessible community in the winter.
Recently we learned that Mayor Warren supported the idea of having Uber, a ridesharing service, being available in Rochester. The Disability Community is highly opposed to allowing any new transportation system into our community that is not accessible. After all, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that every new store, restaurant, and other buildings must be fully accessible, why would transportation be different? We are working to make our community more inclusive, not more segregated. However, that’s exactly what Uber does – it segregates our community by allowing individuals who can walk to use their service, but not individuals in wheelchairs. Furthermore, Uber drivers have also been known to refuse to drive individuals with service animals! This discriminatory business is not what we want to see in our community.
When our concerns were brought to Mayor Warren’s attention, we were happy to hear that she supported provisions to expand Uber’s accessibility. For this reason, the Center for Disability Rights, jointly the United Spinal Association, is asking Mayor Warren not to support Uber’s expansion until Uber is accessible and to meet with us to discuss this issue further.
Below is the letter that we sent to Mayor Warren’s office this morning.
March 10, 2016
Mayor Lovely Warren
City Hall
30 Church Street
Rochester, NY 14614
Dear Mayor Warren,
In light of recent comments by your office regarding accessible transportation, we urge you to reconsider your support for Uber and join our push for 100% wheelchair accessibility for Uber and other for-hire vehicle companies.
Uber has more than 30,000 vehicles in New York City but none are wheelchair accessible. The company has sought to expand into Rochester and across upstate New York, but it has made no commitments to serving wheelchair users.
As we have said many times, Uber and other for-hire vehicle companies should not be allowed to expand statewide until they require all of their vehicles to be wheelchair-accessible.
We were disappointed by your decision last November to endorse Uber’s expansion plan. However, we were encouraged by comments from your office earlier this week, which noted that you would support provisions to expand Uber’s accessibility.
We appreciate your willingness to consider our perspective on this issue, which is something Uber has never done. You now have an important opportunity to join our effort and support the disability community in Rochester and across the state.
Given your interest in promoting accessibility, we urge you to reconsider your support for Uber’s push to expand into Rochester. We also urge you to tell Uber that you will not support its expansion until the company requires all of its vehicles to be wheelchair-accessible.
It is our hope that you will take this opportunity to champion disability rights in Rochester and promote wheelchair-accessible transportation. Additionally, we hope you will consider meeting with us to discuss this issue further.
We look forward to your response and hope to speak with you soon.
Sincerely,
Bruce Darling, CEO Center for Disability Rights
James Weisman, President & CEO United Spinal Association