Robert Besser
01 Aug 2022, 06:20 GMT+10
SAN FRANCISCO, California: A U.S. federal judge has ruled that ride-sharing company Uber has not violated a federal law protecting people with disabilities, even though it does not offer wheelchair-accessible vehicles in every market it serves.
San Francisco federal court Chief Judge Richard Seeborg ruled against two plaintiffs from New Orleans and one from Jackson, Mississippi, who use electric wheelchairs and argued that Uber's failure to provide rides in their home cities violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Seeborg said it was "unreasonable" to require the San Francisco-based company to accommodate the plaintiffs because of the cost, but he rejected Uber's claim that it was excused because it had done "more than its fair share" in other cities.
Uber estimated the "bare minimum" annual costs to team up with commercial providers of wheelchair-accessible vehicles was $800,000 in New Orleans, or about $400 per ride, and $550,000 in Jackson, Mississippi, or about $1,000 per ride.
Even if the money was spent, wheelchair users would likely face "significant" wait times, as well as gaps of eight to 14 hours a day when no rides would be available, Seeborg said, while ruling against plaintiffs Scott Crawford from Jackson, and Stephan Namisnak and Francis Falls from New Orleans.
usIn a statement, Uber said, "We welcome the outcome and are proud of our efforts to improve accessibility for all users."
From 2018 to 2020, Uber said it spent more than $150 million to provide wheelchair-accessible vehicles in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, Austin, San Francisco, Washington, Boston and Portland, Oregon, according to court papers.
Get a daily dose of Denver Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Denver Sun.
More InformationMOSCOW, Russia: Journalists from countries that are "unfriendly" to Russia will be banned from covering this year's St. Petersburg International ...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Landowners in California participated this week in a class organized by the El Dorado Amador Prescribed Burn ...
RAMALLAH, Wet Bank - A two-and-a-half-year-old Palestinian boy shot in the head by Israeli troops has died in hospitalThe boy, ...
NEWARK, New Jersey: Six years after his 2016 presidential campaign failed to succeed, Chris Christie, former New Jersey Governor, will ...
TOKYO, Japan: To counter the declining national birthrate, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to double spending over the next ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Reuters has reported that on 7th June, former Vice President Mike Pence will enter the race for the ...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Landowners in California participated this week in a class organized by the El Dorado Amador Prescribed Burn ...
MENLO PARK, California: Facebook parent company Meta Platforms has said it would remove news content in California if the state ...
CHICAGO, Illinois: Driven by an ongoing shortage of properties available on the market, in March US single-family home prices rose ...
Denver [US], June 6 (ANI): Denver Nuggets were defeated by Miami Heat 111-108 in the NBA Finals at the Ball ...
Cleveland Guardians outfielder Will Brennan boasts an unremarkable track record, but the 25-year-old Colorado native may hold the key to ...
Denver [US], June 6 (ANI): Miami Heat defeated Denver Nuggets 111-108, in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Monday ...