Uber to compensate disabled activist for discrimination by its drivers in Chennai
Prabin.Kalita@timesgroup.com
Guwahati: 08.11.2019
Taking suo motu cognisance of a Facebook post detailing how two Uber drivers in Chennai refused to ferry a person with 80% locomotor disability in June, the Delhi state commissioner for persons with disabilities has ordered the app-cab aggregator to compensate the victim for the discrimination and harassment he suffered that day.
Commissioner TD Dhariyal said in his order, issued on Tuesday, that Uber must introduce training modules for its employees and driver partners on the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act and strictly impose strong penalties for non-compliance.
The order was in response to a Facebook post by Arman Ali, executive director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment of Disabled People, narrating how he missed a flight from Chennai to Bengaluru in June because of back-to-back refusals by Uber drivers to ferry him along with his wheelchair.
“While the cab arrived, the driver refused to carry me because I was in a wheelchair. After repeat episodes, I missed the flight and had to spend ₹14,000 on a fresh ticket,” Ali, who is from Assam, said.
While the incident occurred in June, it wasn’t until August that commissioner Dhariyal found a valid Uber address to which he could send the notice seeking a reply. Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd filed a written reply on October 30, expressing “sincerest regrets for the inconvenience experienced by Mr Arman Ali during his interactions with driver partners registered on the Ether technology platform”.
Uber said its policy of nondiscrimination was already part of the onboarding process and “disability sensitisation programmes” were being regularly conducted. On Ali being refused a ride, it said: “Uber does not have actual onground control of the driver partners, and the decision to accept booking on the Uber app rests solely with the driver partners.” Ali told TOI on Thursday the commissioner for persons with disabilities taking up his case based on a social media post was the most heartening thing to come out of the episode.
The order was in response to a Facebook post by Arman Ali, narrating how he missed a flight to Bengaluru because of refusals by Uber drivers to ferry him along with wheelchair
Prabin.Kalita@timesgroup.com
Guwahati: 08.11.2019
Taking suo motu cognisance of a Facebook post detailing how two Uber drivers in Chennai refused to ferry a person with 80% locomotor disability in June, the Delhi state commissioner for persons with disabilities has ordered the app-cab aggregator to compensate the victim for the discrimination and harassment he suffered that day.
Commissioner TD Dhariyal said in his order, issued on Tuesday, that Uber must introduce training modules for its employees and driver partners on the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act and strictly impose strong penalties for non-compliance.
The order was in response to a Facebook post by Arman Ali, executive director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment of Disabled People, narrating how he missed a flight from Chennai to Bengaluru in June because of back-to-back refusals by Uber drivers to ferry him along with his wheelchair.
“While the cab arrived, the driver refused to carry me because I was in a wheelchair. After repeat episodes, I missed the flight and had to spend ₹14,000 on a fresh ticket,” Ali, who is from Assam, said.
While the incident occurred in June, it wasn’t until August that commissioner Dhariyal found a valid Uber address to which he could send the notice seeking a reply. Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd filed a written reply on October 30, expressing “sincerest regrets for the inconvenience experienced by Mr Arman Ali during his interactions with driver partners registered on the Ether technology platform”.
Uber said its policy of nondiscrimination was already part of the onboarding process and “disability sensitisation programmes” were being regularly conducted. On Ali being refused a ride, it said: “Uber does not have actual onground control of the driver partners, and the decision to accept booking on the Uber app rests solely with the driver partners.” Ali told TOI on Thursday the commissioner for persons with disabilities taking up his case based on a social media post was the most heartening thing to come out of the episode.
The order was in response to a Facebook post by Arman Ali, narrating how he missed a flight to Bengaluru because of refusals by Uber drivers to ferry him along with wheelchair
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