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An UberAssist driver has been fined for denying a ride to a Paralympian with a service dog

February 7th, 2018  |  News

Paralympian, Victoria Nolan, was left abandoned by her Uber driver last year, due to the fact that she had her service dog with her. The Bronze medalist hailed a ride with UberAssist, a subset of Uber that is designed specifically to be accessible to those with disabilities, and was refused when the driver arrived and saw her service dog.

After the incident, Nolan filed a report with Toronto police and the driver was formally charged with discrimination against a person accompanied by a guide dog under the Blind Persons Rights Act. On Monday the driver pleaded guilty to the charge, apologized to Nolan, and was fined $250, out of a possible $5000.

While Nolan expressed that she was happy with the outcome, what she really wants to see is an end to UberAssist driver refusing to take passengers with guide dogs.

"I'm glad that the driver was fined. I'm glad that there was some follow-up there. However, I don't feel like penalizing the driver is really solving the problem," she told CBC Toronto. "I wish that Uber had been there and that they were going to do something to change things. Ultimately what I would like is for this to stop happening."

The head of accessibility at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), Debbie Gillespie, said she is aware of 3 additional cases similar to what Nolan experienced, and expressed that this should not be a problem we are facing in 2018.

"It comes back to a training issue of their drivers," Gillespie told CBC Toronto, adding that Uber drivers are generally not aware of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

"I don't know how they are being trained and I don't want to speculate, but I really think that there has to be more in-depth training of Uber drivers on matters of accessibility around the topic of guide dogs," she said.

Uber's Service Animal Policy states driver-partners have a legal obligation to provide service to riders with service animals.

"If a driver refuses to transport a rider with a service animal because of the service animal, they are in violation of the law and in breach of their agreement with Uber," the policy reads.