Two posts in one day! Wow!
Anyway, first off -- animal guides are not my bailiwick. However, I saw this on Twitter (hat-tip to s.e. smith, of this ain't living, and is fantastic!) and since we had a lot of useful dialog about animal service yesterday, I thought I should post this here as well.
People with Service Animals Can't Catch a Cab in D.C.
The article includes information on a study done by the Equal Rights Center, which is both interesting and depressing, in my opinion. They also include a YouTube video in the article that shows people trying to hail cabs and being passed over in favor of people without companions. A direct link to the study is here.
I am PatientC. Welcome! This is a disability oriented blog where issues and intersection are discussed at my whim and with varying degrees of humanity, snark, and intensity. Content can be adult at times, farcical at others.
That kind of discrimination is deplorable. The DCTC needs to educate the cab drivers about the law. If after having done so, if there are drivers that continue to discriminate, they should be fined. If they commit another offense, their cab license should be suspended.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! And the animals are no threat to the cabs or their drivers, so you think that the companies would have a vested interest in making sure these customers were serviced. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteGood plan: inform/educate, and on infraction fine then suspend.
There's a huge untapped market of transportation for people with disabilities that is repeatedly overlooked because cripples are scary, I guess. I mean, in my city, I see tons of wheelchair users every day, and we have a rehab hospital specifically for people with disabilities, on top of being a military city. And yet not only is there only two wheelchair taxis for the entire city, neither of them are regularly in service, and neither cab company will allow you to book one in advance - you have to call that particular cab driver directly.
ReplyDeleteIt's incredibly irritating, to say the least.
@Anna -- Wow, I would be irritated, too! That does not seem to make any fiscal sense to me. With those kinds of facilities there, I would think that maybe a service that specialized in disabled cab needs would do well...
ReplyDeleteI think I am going to call the cab companies in my city, and see how they respond to requests for handicapped travel. I do not travel by cab, but it might be good for other folks that do.
Thanks for coming by! I check FWD every day. =)
Attitudes one encounters when you have a service animal varies widely, often in the space of mere moments.
ReplyDeleteI literally had one waiter in a restaurant stomp over to me and demand to see our papers. I felt like I was encountering the new breed of Gestapo, it was very aggravating to me. I tersely explained the law and he backed down.
@Kopi -- I think I would have felt exactly the same way! Good for you for not backing down.
ReplyDeleteHmm, it almost seems like the "papers" folks need to care are copies of the ADA.
Damn.
I do have a card explaining the law that I keep in my wallet... I likely need to get some brochures for businesses to keep in my pack so they can be informed.
ReplyDeleteLuckily I am not walking around with a service pony... ;)
Agreed!
ReplyDeleteHey, did you see Through a Dog's Eyes on PBS?