Uber driver refuses to collect Stevenage wheelchair-user
https://www.thecomet.net/news/26474994. ... hair-user/
Uber has apologised for a driver's "unacceptable" behaviour after he refused to collect a Stevenage customer who uses a wheelchair.
Gobi Ranganathan, an international para-badminton player and accessibility advocate from Stevenage, had booked an Uber from his home to the Old Town last Wednesday, but the driver refused to let him enter the vehicle.
Gobi said: "I’m a wheelchair user and I’m very independent.
"The driver unwound the passenger window and immediately refused to take me, informing me that I needed a specialist taxi.
"I reassured him that I was able to transfer to a seat and fold/dismantle my lightweight wheelchair, but he still refused, before winding the window up and driving away.
"He barely looked at me and didn’t even get out of the vehicle. "He just didn’t want to take me."
Gobi said he was left confused, frustrated and angry "over this blatant breach of the Equality Act 2010".
An Uber spokesperson said the company has investigated the incident and taken action against the driver.
The spokesperson said: "What happened is unacceptable, and we are sorry for the distress caused."Ensuring that Uber is accessible for every passenger is a key priority for us."
Gobi has a long history of advocating for accessible travel.
He works as a principal engineer and accessibility lead for a consultancy in London, serves as an accessibility representative on the Stansted Airport Consultative Committee, and as a non-executive director at the Rail Ombudsman.
He said: "I’m well-travelled and highly independent when it comes to travel, yet here I am, being refused travel in my home town. "My main issue is that shouldn’t be happening in this day and age, and that someone less confident and able than me would have been severely impacted by this incident.
"I’m actually impacted more than I thought I’d be, and it’s affected me mentally more than I’d even thought possible."
Uber's policy requires drivers to carry passengers with assistive devices, including folding wheelchairs, unless they hold a valid medical exemption from their licensing authority.
Drivers who violate this policy risk losing access to the Uber app.
Gobi said Uber has given him a £5 credit for his next trip, which he described as "an insult".
He said he is speaking out to highlight the broader issue of accessibility and to prevent similar experiences for others.
