Uber Settles US Lawsuit Over Disabled Riders, Vows to Waive Fees

Uber was sued in November after disabled passengers complained that they were charged for taking over two minutes.

By Reuters | Updated: 19 July 2022 00:29 IST

Uber Settles US Lawsuit Over Disabled Riders, Vows to Waive Fees

Uber was sued in November after disabled passengers' complaints

Highlights

Uber Technologies has been ordered to waive wait time fees
Uber will waive wait time fees for certified disabled riders
It will also credit accounts for more than 65,000 eligible riders

Uber Technologies will pay more than $2 million (roughly Rs. 16 crore) and waive wait time fees for disabled passengers to settle the US allegations that the ride share company had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Department of Justice said on Monday.

As part of a two-year agreement, Uber will waive wait time fees for certified disabled riders and pay $1,738,500 (roughly Rs. 13 crore) to more than 1,000 riders who complained about the charges and $500,000 (roughly Rs. 4 crore) to others harmed by the practice, the department said.

Uber will also credit accounts for more than 65,000 eligible riders, it added.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

The department sued the company in November after passengers complained that they were charged fees for taking more than two minutes to get into their ride share cars, noting in its announcement Monday that blind passengers may take longer to reach the waiting car or those with walkers or wheelchairs may take longer to get in.

"People with disabilities should not be made to feel like second-class citizens or punished because of their disability,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement, adding that the settlement will send "a strong message that Uber and other ridesharing companies will be held accountable."

An Uber spokesperson welcomed the settlement and said it would continue "to help everyone move easily around their communities" and keep "working to improve accessibility for all users."

How Uber Has Changed Since the Strategy of Chaos Revealed by the ‘Uber Files’

"It has long been our policy to refund wait time fees for riders with a disability when they alerted us that they were charged," it said, adding that it had made changes before the lawsuit to have disabled riders' wait time fees waived automatically when Uber is notified that they were charged.

Gaana CEO and Spotify's India chief join us on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, to discuss India's unique music streaming landscape. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.