Why app-hailed transportation remains inadequately accessible to wheelchair users

Abstract

People with disabilities in general and wheelchair users in particular face challenges in transportation services hailed using smartphone apps such as as Uber and Lyft. Although some riders who use wheelchairs use the services successfully, others experience various challenges from shortage of accessible vehicles, service denial by drivers, and long wait times. This article explains how in the U.S. these companies position themselves as technology platforms, an intermediary entity between drivers and riders, and therefore not accountable for accessibility regulations and labor standards. This positioning leads to inaccessible services for wheelchair users. This paper highlights considerations for change that can improve the prospects of wheelchair users to travel using these apps.