Why Are Austin’s Ridesharing Providers Excluding People With Disabilities?
Includes tips and ideas for Ridesharing Companies to Better Serve the Disability Community
It all started with a simple interview
During a rather benign interview by KXAN News with Austin City Mayor Steve Adler much was said about ridesharing services — issues pertaining to national background checks and fingerprinting were the main topics — which is understandable since those issues gained major public attention in 2016.
Burying the lead with Mayor Steve Adler
Unfortunately KXAN did not ask the Mayor about other topics that are more or just as important as national background checks and fingerprinting — but has not received public attention or media coverage.
More specifically, KXAN did not ask our Mayor about service provided by transportation network companies (TNC) to Austinites with disabilities. — or the failure of TNC service providers to provide rides to all citizens of Austin -including Austinites living with disabilities.
The Mayor is aware that every transportation network company in Austin is required to have an accessible service request option on their app within three months of launching. However, none of the (8) TNC’s operating in Austin provide this option for people with disabilities — making it unfeasible if not impossible for people with disabilities to use TNC services.
If KXAN News had asked Mayor Adler about rideshare services for people with disabilities, I’m confident our fine Mayor — who has publicly stated he wants Austin to become the “Most Livable, Inclusive and Accessible City in Nation” would have passionately called-out all (8) of the TNC providers operating in Austin for purposefully excluding people with disabilities.
There’s no doubt Mayor Steve Adler would say he wants all Austinites with disabilities and international visitors with disabilities to have equal and equitable access to rides from Austin’s (8) TNC providers — if not for social inclusion and equity, then certainly for city profits — people moving place-to-place around Austin translates into consumer sales and that translates into sales tax revenue for the city.
People with Disabilities want to use ride-sharing services just like everybody else
How would you feel if you were excluded — if you were barred from taking a rideshare to services to go to a job interview, to the grocery store, to church, a movie, a bar, or meet your mother for lunch. Think about it — I bet you’d be less than happy. Maybe you’d even protest or march in the streets to demand equality and access to your civil rights.
“Nothing validates discrimination, abuse, marginalization, or exclusion….” Darren Bates
No excuses
TNC providers have no reason, no excuses, no justification for failing to provide rides for all Austin residents and visitors. — I want to help resolve this problem so I’m hoping TNC providers and Drivers listen-up and take advantage of the information coming your way.
Trying to “walk in their shoes” to find a solution
Okay, I’m going to give it a shot. I’m going to try to see things from the TNC perspective. Perhaps if I explore things differently; try to walk in their shoes, I’ll find a solution for riders with disabilities, the City of Austin, and the TNC’s. Fair warning: I may fail because these are some cheap-ass shoes!
Why might a TNC provider or TNC Driver be discouraged from providing rides to people with disabilities?
- BARRIER: Perhaps they do not have accessible vans in operation that can provide rides for individuals that use powered and unpowered wheelchairs or other mobility devices.
- SOLUTION: Since September 2016, the city has collected more than half a million dollars from its 1 percent TNC fee — that funding could be used to subsidize the purchase of accessible vehicles for the city. The city could lease the vehicles to TNCs — which could potentially start services to people with disabilities with little to no capital investment — not to mention the costs of leasing could be a major tax deduction for the TNC. IN the alternative, a TNC could purchase accessible vehicles through the city’s numerous loan programs or the city might subsidize the purchase or offer discount credits — so many options! No longer can any TNC say it doesn’t have the funding to purchase or gain access to accessible vehicles. Anyone saying that is providing alternative facts or fake news! The cash is there and ready to provision the service.
- 2) BARRIER: TNC’s do not provide proper training to their Drivers to enable them to serve ALL AUSTINITES — including those with disabilities and Older residents.
- SOLUTION A: There are various public and private organizations (profit and nonprofit) organizations in Austin that provide services to people with disabilities and technical assistance and other training to organizations, municipalities, and employers on a broad range of disability related topics. These organizations can customize training to TNC providers and their Drivers to empower them to properly serve everyone — including disability and senior community.
- SOLUTION B: Some disability service providers would be willing to offer no-cost training through an in-kind donation arrangement with TNC providers. For example: Here’s what to do. TNC providers seek out Disability Service Providers in Austin and request they provide a “block of trainings” as an in-kind donation to a TNC provider — make sure to set the value of the donation. In return, the TNC provider will offer an equitable value of in-kind donation to Disability Service Provider in the form of “free ride sharing vouchers” that the Disability Service Provider can distribute to consumers of their services and programs, e.g. people with disabilities. If that’s not a win-win then I’m not breathing.
- SOLUTION C: A TNC provider, The City of Austin, and one or more of the numerous FORTUNE RANKED IT COMPANIES in Austin can agree to engage in a P3 — public-private-partnership to leverage funding to pay for in full or subsidize all necessary ADA Training needed by TNC providers and TNC Drivers.
The gift that keeps on giving
I can only imagine the abundance of positive Press and Social Media Coverage each of the P3 organizations will receive for collaborating to solving one of Austin’s major equity problems. No doubt each enterprise will see a rise in BRAND, major return-on-investment, and a nice bump in profits. Not to mention, TNC providers and the City of Austin will enjoy added revenue from people with disabilities now using TNC services!
One more important thing
Nobody expects a (2) year old to be able to write a doctoral dissertation — well except my Mother and she wasn’t disappointed — let me just say.
Likewise nobody is asking or expecting TNC providers to instantaneously have a fleet of 5o accessible vehicles or hundreds of trained drivers.
Social solutions are like business startups — may start-out small and grow overtime to become major corporate successes. Can anyone from Austin say, @MichaelDell — he started as a one man show working from his dorm room at the University of Texas at Austin.
It’s acceptable for TNC providers and Drivers to start-out small — to properly secure the assets, resources, partnerships and related resources needed to provide rides to Austinites with disabilities. Failing to take action is not acceptable.
I’m giving you a cheat sheet
TNC providers and Drivers: Use the following strategies and solutions outlined above to ignite the actions below:
- Start with the provision of 2–5 accessible vans;
- Build a small Driving Team of maybe 2-to drivers able to drive all passengers but can also provide accessible rides to people with cross disabilities;
- Provide relevant training to your Driving Team in partnership and collaboration with a local community Disability Service Provider able to develop the requisite curriculum and deliver training to your Driving Team — empowering each Driver to provide the very best ride sharing experience to all people — and that means everyone — no matter their age, race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, class, or ability.;
- Consider engaging in partnership and collaboration with University or Community College, The Texas Workforce Commission and its American Job Centers which can develop and deliver additional training needed to issue a “Community Accessibility and Inclusion Certification” — which could be presented and sponsored by the City of Austin, City Council, The City of Austin’s Innovation Office and/or The City of Austin’s Equity Office;
- Put your Driving Team and accessible vehicles to work already — delivering the best kick-ass ride sharing Austin or any city worldwide has ever seen!
You’ve got a lifeline too
TNC providers, TNC Drivers, Mayor Steve Adler, stakeholders and the like — if you need more help, just contact me through Darren Bates LLC.
New Ride-Sharing Complaint Form
If you want to file a complaint with the City of Austin against a ride-sharing company, you can now do so online or by mail.
ONLINE:
Click on link: Ride-Sharing Online Complaint Form
or cut and paste this link into your browser: http://austintexas.gov/online-form/ground-transportation-complaint-form
MAIL:
Click on link: GROUND TRANSPORTATION COMPLAINT FORM or cut and paste this link into your browser: http://austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Transportation/Ground_Transportation/ground-transportation-complaint-form.pdf
Mail Completed Form:
Austin Transportation Department
Vehicles for Hire/Ground Transportation
P.O. Box 1088
Austin, TX 78767–1088
Darren Bates is a lifelong champion of equality, inclusion, and social justice for people with disabilities and other diverse, underrepresented, and historically marginalized populations. Darren is internationally recognized as one of the most innovative and knowledgeable Thought Leaders in the field of Global Inclusion.
Darren offers accessibility and inclusion training, strategic consulting, and professional speaking services through Darren Bates, LLC.
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