Uber charged customers with disabilities extra fees, suit says. Now it’ll pay millions

Ride-share giant Uber will pay millions of dollars and waive wait time fees for customers with disabilities to settle accusations that the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In a news release, the Department of Justice said the company will offer financial compensation to over 65,000 customers who were charged “discriminatory fees” because of their disabilities. The settlement is the outcome of a lawsuit filed by the federal government against Uber, which alleged that Uber’s “wait time” policies were unfair to customers with disabilities.

Uber did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Tuesday, July 19.

But the company said in a statement the The Hill that it’s pleased with the agreement.

“It has long been our policy to refund wait time fees for riders with a disability when they alerted us that they were charged, and prior to this matter being filed we made changes so that any rider who shares that they have a disability would have wait time fees waived automatically,” the company said, according to The Hill.

According to the lawsuit, filed in November 2021, Uber began charging customers “wait time” fees in April 2016. Customers began to incur the fees two minutes after the Uber vehicle arrived at the pickup spot and were charged until the trip started.

But the lawsuit argued that Uber “violated the ADA by failing to reasonably modify its wait time fee policy for passengers who, because of disability, needed more than two minutes to get in an Uber car,” officials said.

“Many passengers with disabilities require more than two minutes to board or load into a vehicle for various reasons, including because they may use mobility aids and devices such as wheelchairs and walkers that need to be broken down and stored in the vehicle or because they simply need additional time to board the vehicle,” the complaint said.

Now, under a two-year agreement, Uber will waive wait time fees for customers who demonstrate that they, or “someone they frequently travel with,” need more time to board a vehicle due to a disability, the Department of Justice said.

The company will also pay $1,738,500 to over a thousand riders who complained to Uber about the excessive charges as well as $500,000 to “other harmed individuals identified by the department,” the agency said.

“People with disabilities should not be made to feel like second-class citizens or punished because of their disability, which is exactly what Uber’s wait time fee policy did,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said. “This agreement sends a strong message that Uber and other ridesharing companies will be held accountable if their services discriminate against people with disabilities.”

Uber said in a statement to The Verge that it’s committed to making accommodations for customers with disabilities.

“We are always working to improve accessibility for all users and encourage riders with a disability to utilize our self-declaration form to have wait time fees waived,” it said, according to the outlet.

This story was originally published July 19, 2022 at 11:38 AM with the headline "Uber charged customers with disabilities extra fees, suit says. Now it’ll pay millions."