Technology

Lyft is engaged on a ‘service animal opt-in characteristic’ for passengers | TechCrunch


Uber and Lyft have to do extra to help disabled passengers, particularly those that are blind or visually impaired, based on protesters who gathered exterior the businesses’ headquarters on October 15.

Wired spoke to protesters who shared tales about drivers passing them by or refusing to allow them to deliver their information canine on a trip. They mentioned ride-hailing corporations ought to do extra to coach drivers on accommodating passengers with visible impairments, and will train a “zero-tolerance” coverage for discriminatory drivers.

A Lyft spokesperson mentioned, “We try to offer an inclusive and accessible platform for riders, together with those that depend on service animals.” They mentioned the corporate is “working immediately with advocacy organizations in the neighborhood” and in addition pointed to an upcoming “service animal opt-in characteristic” that ought to launch by 2025.

The corporate talked about the characteristic earlier this month, in a profile of a brand new product supervisor, Shreya Shankar, who mentioned this can permit riders to “declare that they’ve a service animal” (they’ll solely want to do that as soon as), so the motive force can be notified earlier than pickup.

“That method there shouldn’t be any surprises — or confusion or frustration from getting stranded,” Shankar mentioned.