Thanks to the emotional support animal loophole, the public opinion on the matter has shifted and service providers now assume you don’t actually require your critically needed service animal.
I’m thinking of absolute outrage that would have followed from denying someone’s guide dog 20 years ago, versus the low-key meh it gets today.
Arbiter51x on
I don’t blame them. So many people abusing the system and claiming their dog is a service animal.
Thalaas on
To be fair it is people using their own private vehicle and they may not want an animal for any reason, due to allergies or phobias. And the number of people who fake service animals doesn’t help.
nicenyeezy on
Uber pet is what I use when I have my cat with me
QCTeamkill on
>“While they may have a good plan, the execution is, for some reason, not working,” said Preston, an associate professor of disability studies at Western University in London, Ont.
>“We need people to be driving who are open and understand their obligations, fundamentally. It’s that simple.”
Oh wow great solution doc! I guess I too am sort of an Associate Professor of Disability Studies myself, as every random Joe on the street can also say that.
ferretf on
Never used Uber but can you not just ask for a driver who will accept a service animal?
pineapple6969 on
Why does she seem to enjoy calling these rides just to get them on video saying no. It’s as if she WANTS to have a reason to report somebody.
Call an Uber pet. It’s an animal. Guide dog or not.
Also aren’t uber drivers independent contractors technically? You can’t make these people allow animals in their own personal vehicle? What about the mess, allergies, phobias of dogs etc?
activoice on
I understand that her service dog is not a pet.
But if Uber renamed UberPet to UberAnimal would she order it then? Or is she really not willing to use UberPet just because of the added cost, and not the name?
I use UberPet whenever I travel with my dog. A lot of times these drivers have something covering the seat or have cleaning supplies in their car. Also a lot of Uber drivers don’t want large dogs in their car as their claws can damage the interior of the car.
JoseyxHoney on
The solution to this is a national registry for legitimate service dogs. Actual national service dog identifiers and an easy government database to use to verify that the dog is in fact a service dog.
Unfortunately a lot of dog owners are entitled and then also believe their dog can do no wrong (insane) and this has lead to violent incidents and property damage. It’s these people pretending their pets are service animals that are really messing things up for people with disabilities which is so sad.
Koss424 on
you can call a licensed cap company they will take your service dog.
GrapeTheArmadillo on
Transportation accessibility in general is abysmal in Canada. The whole system needs to be reworked and some serious training undertaken for staff, as well as public education campaigns.
BergderZwerg on
Does Uber actually have employees driving the cars? I thought they were the embodiment of gig economy, basically giving people a platform to make some money using their privately owned cars..
If it actually is as I thought, then their rejection of transporting a pet is a bit more understandable, it simply doesn`t pay to risk the car needing to be cleaned afterwards or having future passengers with pet-related allergies to suffer (some allergens are difficult to remove from your car, I`d wager). As an additional cleaning fee would remove their price advantage compared to regular taxis (who indeed can not refuse to transport service animals, afaik), there seems to be next to no middle ground save for dedicated and better compensated pet-friendly Uber drivers/cars. Those could be subsidised by Uber themselves, so that the people dependent on their service don`t have to pay more. But that would cut into their margins, so it`s never going to happen.
It`s regrettable that public transport isn`t a widespread option for people with disabilities for the affected people.
Stunning_Use_9960 on
The CBC is ignoring the real reason why Uber drivers won’t pick up service dogs. A large percentage of drivers are Muslim and Islam considers dogs ritually impure.
Remarkable_1984 on
As far as I’m concerned, if you’re booking an Uber with a service dog, you’d better show up with a white cane and black glasses too. Way too many people scamming the system with their anxiety dogs, and the poor Uber driver has no way to tell what is legit.
tobaknowsss on
Unrelated to the service dogs, I recently had an Uber driver try to convince me to cancel the ride, then pay him $40 using some point of sale device he had in his car, for a ride that would have cost like $25 on the app. Immediately reported him.
Crenorz on
a LARGE part of the population is ALERGIC to dogs. Besides the basic smell. So why would an uber driver want one in the car? are you paying to have it cleaned and de-dogged after your ride?
Total – no kidding, there are other options, use them.
LemonPress50 on
20 times and they have complained. That shows you what kind of company Uber is.
Chance-Curve-9679 on
This is why taxi services are superior in many ways. Uber is basically No Frills or Food Basics. Taxi services have to be accountable and are heavily regulated and Uber has minimal regulations.
SpareThing on
It’s first thing in the morning and you take a passenger with a dog. Now from now on until you clean and fumigate your car no one else can ride in your car if they are allergic to dogs. If they get into the dog car they can go into shock or have a severe reaction. Possible lawsuit. You see it’s not all about you.
RM_r_us on
Seems a catch 22. You are using your private vehicle for business so on that hand, you should get a sa who you give rides to.
On the other hand, there are pet Ubers, which do accept animal and human riders. While I appreciate service animals are specifically trained, at the end of the day they are dogs with fur and smell etc. I don’t think it’s such a grief to take a pet Uber when you are with an animal.
morelsupporter on
i don’t want some random dog in my car either.
Outrageous-Estimate9 on
Except people can be allergic to dogs, or fear of dogs, or simply not want an animal in the place period
This is always a hot issue since one side says need to accomadate disability, but other side doesnt want animals in certain places (food service being one of the worst)
MainBuddy604 on
Uber is not a taxi company so they can refuse to follow any laws and they will bribe politicians to let them get away with it
CalvinsFinest on
Uber allows users to self identify on the app as needing a ride for you and a service animal. However, uber doesnt share this information with the driver till they are at the pickup location.
If uber did share this info with drivers, you would have a smaller pool of drivers that were willing to do it – which would elevate the price for a disabled user, which would probably translate into a lawsuit against Uber for discrimination.
No win-win here.
mindlesstake on
If only so many entitled pet “parents” didn’t declare their dogs as “service animals”.
RoyallyOakie on
It would help if there weren’t so many people trying to pass their pets off as service animals. People buy those vests online, not thinking about the disservice they do to people with ACTUAL service animals.
26 Comments
Thanks to the emotional support animal loophole, the public opinion on the matter has shifted and service providers now assume you don’t actually require your critically needed service animal.
I’m thinking of absolute outrage that would have followed from denying someone’s guide dog 20 years ago, versus the low-key meh it gets today.
I don’t blame them. So many people abusing the system and claiming their dog is a service animal.
To be fair it is people using their own private vehicle and they may not want an animal for any reason, due to allergies or phobias. And the number of people who fake service animals doesn’t help.
Uber pet is what I use when I have my cat with me
>“While they may have a good plan, the execution is, for some reason, not working,” said Preston, an associate professor of disability studies at Western University in London, Ont.
>“We need people to be driving who are open and understand their obligations, fundamentally. It’s that simple.”
Oh wow great solution doc! I guess I too am sort of an Associate Professor of Disability Studies myself, as every random Joe on the street can also say that.
Never used Uber but can you not just ask for a driver who will accept a service animal?
Why does she seem to enjoy calling these rides just to get them on video saying no. It’s as if she WANTS to have a reason to report somebody.
Call an Uber pet. It’s an animal. Guide dog or not.
Also aren’t uber drivers independent contractors technically? You can’t make these people allow animals in their own personal vehicle? What about the mess, allergies, phobias of dogs etc?
I understand that her service dog is not a pet.
But if Uber renamed UberPet to UberAnimal would she order it then? Or is she really not willing to use UberPet just because of the added cost, and not the name?
I use UberPet whenever I travel with my dog. A lot of times these drivers have something covering the seat or have cleaning supplies in their car. Also a lot of Uber drivers don’t want large dogs in their car as their claws can damage the interior of the car.
The solution to this is a national registry for legitimate service dogs. Actual national service dog identifiers and an easy government database to use to verify that the dog is in fact a service dog.
Unfortunately a lot of dog owners are entitled and then also believe their dog can do no wrong (insane) and this has lead to violent incidents and property damage. It’s these people pretending their pets are service animals that are really messing things up for people with disabilities which is so sad.
you can call a licensed cap company they will take your service dog.
Transportation accessibility in general is abysmal in Canada. The whole system needs to be reworked and some serious training undertaken for staff, as well as public education campaigns.
Does Uber actually have employees driving the cars? I thought they were the embodiment of gig economy, basically giving people a platform to make some money using their privately owned cars..
If it actually is as I thought, then their rejection of transporting a pet is a bit more understandable, it simply doesn`t pay to risk the car needing to be cleaned afterwards or having future passengers with pet-related allergies to suffer (some allergens are difficult to remove from your car, I`d wager). As an additional cleaning fee would remove their price advantage compared to regular taxis (who indeed can not refuse to transport service animals, afaik), there seems to be next to no middle ground save for dedicated and better compensated pet-friendly Uber drivers/cars. Those could be subsidised by Uber themselves, so that the people dependent on their service don`t have to pay more. But that would cut into their margins, so it`s never going to happen.
It`s regrettable that public transport isn`t a widespread option for people with disabilities for the affected people.
The CBC is ignoring the real reason why Uber drivers won’t pick up service dogs. A large percentage of drivers are Muslim and Islam considers dogs ritually impure.
As far as I’m concerned, if you’re booking an Uber with a service dog, you’d better show up with a white cane and black glasses too. Way too many people scamming the system with their anxiety dogs, and the poor Uber driver has no way to tell what is legit.
Unrelated to the service dogs, I recently had an Uber driver try to convince me to cancel the ride, then pay him $40 using some point of sale device he had in his car, for a ride that would have cost like $25 on the app. Immediately reported him.
a LARGE part of the population is ALERGIC to dogs. Besides the basic smell. So why would an uber driver want one in the car? are you paying to have it cleaned and de-dogged after your ride?
Total – no kidding, there are other options, use them.
20 times and they have complained. That shows you what kind of company Uber is.
This is why taxi services are superior in many ways. Uber is basically No Frills or Food Basics. Taxi services have to be accountable and are heavily regulated and Uber has minimal regulations.
It’s first thing in the morning and you take a passenger with a dog. Now from now on until you clean and fumigate your car no one else can ride in your car if they are allergic to dogs. If they get into the dog car they can go into shock or have a severe reaction. Possible lawsuit. You see it’s not all about you.
Seems a catch 22. You are using your private vehicle for business so on that hand, you should get a sa who you give rides to.
On the other hand, there are pet Ubers, which do accept animal and human riders. While I appreciate service animals are specifically trained, at the end of the day they are dogs with fur and smell etc. I don’t think it’s such a grief to take a pet Uber when you are with an animal.
i don’t want some random dog in my car either.
Except people can be allergic to dogs, or fear of dogs, or simply not want an animal in the place period
This is always a hot issue since one side says need to accomadate disability, but other side doesnt want animals in certain places (food service being one of the worst)
Uber is not a taxi company so they can refuse to follow any laws and they will bribe politicians to let them get away with it
Uber allows users to self identify on the app as needing a ride for you and a service animal. However, uber doesnt share this information with the driver till they are at the pickup location.
If uber did share this info with drivers, you would have a smaller pool of drivers that were willing to do it – which would elevate the price for a disabled user, which would probably translate into a lawsuit against Uber for discrimination.
No win-win here.
If only so many entitled pet “parents” didn’t declare their dogs as “service animals”.
It would help if there weren’t so many people trying to pass their pets off as service animals. People buy those vests online, not thinking about the disservice they do to people with ACTUAL service animals.