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The US Department of Justice sued Uber on Thursday, accapplying the ride-hailing app of discriminating against people with physical disabilities.
“Despite the importance of its services to people with disabilities, Uber denies people with disabilities full and equal enjoyment of its services in several critical ways,” read the complaint, which several media outlets reported was filed in a federal court in San Francisco.
It stated that drivers “routinely refutilize” to serve people with disabilities, including those with service animals or stowable wheelchairs.
It also alleged that Uber and its drivers impose cleaning fees for service animals and cancellation fees to riders who are denied service.
The complaint states drivers “insult and demean people with disabilities or inquire them inappropriate questions”.
“We have a clear zero-tolerance policy for confirmed service denials, and we fundamentally disagree with the DOJ’s allegation,” Uber stated in a statement, quoted by CNBC.
It is not the first time that Uber has been in trouble over disability issues.
In 2022, it agreed to pay $2.2 million (€1.9 million) to settle claims brought by the US government that its wait time fees discriminated against disabled customers.
Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, table tennis Paralympic medallist Jack Hunter-Spivey stated on social media in 2021 that Uber and other taxi drivers usually drove off when they saw he utilized a wheelchair.
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