Month: July 2022

Categories
Disability Rights Transportation

ADA and Taxi/Rideshare Services

WAV in Melbourne AU

People with disabilities should not be made to feel like second-class citizens or punished because of their disability. These are welcome words from Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke in a United States Department of Justice (DOJ) press release on July 18, 2022.

As we commemorate passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on National Disability Independence Day (July 26, 1990), it’s heartening that the DOJ—tasked with enforcing this disability civil rights law—remains committed to this directive. DOJ’s July 18th action holding Uber accountable for discriminating against people with disabilities makes their commitment clear.

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In November 2021, the DOJ filed an ADA lawsuit against Uber for charging passengers wait time fees. The fees, dating back to 2016, started two minutes after the Uber car arrived at the pickup location and were charged until the car began its trip. The DOJ complaint alleged 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. For example, passengers who use a wheelchair or walker may need more time to fold or stow it in the vehicle.

The DOJ settled the case on July 18th when Uber agreed to pay several million dollars in compensation to more than 65,000 Uber riders who were charged discriminatory fees due to disability. Going forward, Uber will no longer charge wait time fees for all Uber riders who certify that their disability causes them to take longer to get in an Uber car. Uber will advertise the wait time fee waiver program and train its customer service representatives on the waiver program and refund process to ensure that people with disabilities are not charged illegal fees. 

This is great news for riders with disabilities who are able to board an Uber vehicle. But what about riders who need a wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) to use a ridesharing or taxi service? Their issue is not with wait time fees, but with waiting for Uber, Lyft, and taxis to provide a WAV service. These riders are denied the opportunity to book a trip.

After flying 2,500 miles from West Palm Beach, Florida to Spokane, Washington two weeks ago, the toughest leg of my trip was getting a ride eight miles from the airport to my hotel. Uber and Lyft had no WAVs and Orange taxi only had two. Despite being grateful that Orange cab honored my reservation when my flight was delayed, I cringed at the $100 surcharge. Since I had no other way to get to the hotel, I had to pay the equivalent of a triple fare for the “privilege” of riding in a WAV. Surely this is a violation of the surcharge prohibition found in the ADA Title III regulation at 28 CFR § 36.301(c).

As much as the ADA has accomplished, there is so much more to be done. So what is the next step for achieving accessible rideshare and taxi services?

For discussion of other advocacy issues, go to “ALWAYS AN ADVOCATE: Champions of Change for People with Dwarfism and Disabilities” available on Amazon in print, e-book, and audio formats. Read more at https://angelamuirvanetten.com/always-an-advocate/. To subscribe to my weekly blog on dwarfism and disability issues, go to https://angelamuirvanetten.com/blog/.

Categories
Celebrations

Two-Year Blog Anniversary Favorites

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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

A Trendy Olympic Sport—Hotel Bed Climbing? July 26, 2021. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/a-trendy-olympic-sport-hotel-bed-climbing/

Post excerpt: . . . The bed was level with our chest and must have been at least 27 inches tall. At our height of 40 inches, this was an impossible feat. There was no stool in sight and none were available at the front desk. . . So how could this happen in an accessible room? Doesn’t the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) address bed height? . . .    

Pat & Rich comment: With the newer beds being so tall our regular foot stool we carry in our luggage would not accommodate us! This situation has become an issue for traveling.

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DWARFISM TRILOGY COMPLETE: Recurring Pattern of Three Emerges. September 27, 2021. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/dwarfism-trilogy-complete-recurring-pattern-of-three-emerges/

Post excerpt: After 33 years, my dwarfism trilogy is complete. Three books in a little more than three decades about God’s three gifts of grace in my life—faith, hope, and love. As it happens, the word “three” has emerged as a thread in this cradle to retirement memoir series.

Making the Impossible Happen. October 4, 2021. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/making-the-impossible-happen/

Post excerpt: Characterized as the biggest state and local building code change in 20 years, October 8, 1997 is a date few know to commemorate. This is when. . . the six-inch reach barrier was [broken making] ATMs, gas pumps, elevators accessible to people with dwarfism and half a million others whose disability involved a reach limitation.

Be Thankful in All Circumstances. December 27, 2021. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/be-thankful-in-all-circumstances/

Post excerpt: I’m thankful that God protected us from being exposed to COVID-19 and that our double vaccination came without side effects. One way of staying safe at home was to order home delivered groceries. Our neighbors even benefited when my order for nine individual bananas was misinterpreted as an order for nine pounds of bananas!

Take Action Against ADA Access Violations. January 24, 2022. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/take-action-against-ada-access-violations/

Post excerpt: Thirty years after the effective date of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on January 26, 1992, I didn’t expect to read about an accessibility nightmare. But that’s exactly what a Little Person wrote about her recent experience trying to order fast food from a McDonald’s self-serve kiosk.

Honeymoon Romance Takes A Dive. February 14, 2022. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/honeymoon-romance-takes-a-dive/

Kathleen comment: Angela, great story! I can picture the whole scene.

The Gift of Being Distinctive. May 2, 2022. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/the-gift-of-being-distinctive/

Post excerpt: I have come to see my size is a gift that should not be wasted. I can use it to positively influence how people perceive disability, illustrate our abilities, interact with kindness, increase integration into the mainstream, and identify barriers that demand removal. I can impede the impact of negative behaviors by being impervious to the impertinence, isolating offenders, and indicting those who interfere with civil rights and impose both inequality and injustice on people with disabilities.

Juliette comment: The message to embrace who we’re created to be is so timely for us all right now. Love it.

To subscribe to my weekly blog on dwarfism and disability issues, go to https://angelamuirvanetten.com/blog/.

Categories
Little People of America Transportation

Successful Spokane Trip

LPA Expo Table

Airfares doubling, flight delays and cancellations, and Robert’s inability to travel combined to make a trip from West Palm Beach, Florida to the LPA conference in Spokane, Washington questionable. Yet I needed to be there. Not because it was LPA’s 65th anniversary, but it was the first opportunity to market my dwarfism memoir trilogy since its’ completion in 2021.

So after prayerful consideration and organizing at-home support for Robert, I flew to Spokane on July 3rd. Given that Delta pilots were on strike, I was grateful to be flying with American Airlines. Prior weeks of airport chaos had me anticipating trouble. Instead, there were no major hiccups.

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TSA staff were friendly and helpful. Just as well, because head-level tables were too high for me to lift my bags onto. Plus a sophisticated scanner negated TSA’s need to unpack my computer and CPAP from carry-on bags. Technology also kept me informed of flight delays. Upon arrival at my Dallas, Texas connection, the American Airlines App on my phone notified me of a delay and gate change. No need to line up for flight information or strain to read departure screens.

As with any trip, I encountered a mixed bag of fellow travelers. Passenger allies provided interesting encounters and helped with things like retrieving my suitcase from the baggage claim carousel. A hostile passenger complained about how long it took TSA to process a veteran with a prosthetic leg. And an inconsiderate passenger used the accessible bathroom stall as a personal dressing room.

A late arrival in Spokane put my accessible taxi reservation in jeopardy. Thankfully the driver waited for me to be reunited with my scooter and checked luggage. I reserve my objection to the $100 surcharge for the accessible taxi for another day—it was my only way of getting to the hotel with my scooter and I didn’t want to be stranded at the airport. 

A midnight arrival at the hotel eliminated a check-in line, qualified me for a two-day breakfast treat of soft peanut brittle, and resulted in a bellhop being immediately available. Even though the room had been prepared for LPA guests, I needed the bellhop to not only bring my bags to the room, but also to remove the soap and shampoo from the wall holders and lower the coffee maker and iron. Despite not noticing the need for a step stool to climb into bed until after he left, I didn’t call him back. I used an overturned trash can. A five o’clock rise and shine message at dawn meant I also overlooked asking how to lower the blinds.

Not only was travel trauma avoided, but also my book marketing objectives were accomplished. All but two of the books shipped were sold at the LPA Expo! And the bonus was attending and presenting at workshops, participating in conversations on sensitive topics, receiving DNA confirmation of my dwarfism diagnosis, connecting with LP past and future friends, and exploring Spokane. All my prayers were answered.

For information on my dwarfism memoir trilogy, go to https://angelamuirvanetten.com/books/.

Categories
Celebrations Little People of America

LPA Conference Destinations

Map
Image by alijoy313 from Pixabay

Before Robert and I married, he promised to show me every state in the union. Although not the reason I accepted his marriage proposal, I was ready to see the sights, meet the people, learn the history, understand the nation I was adopting as my home. Today on my 40th July 4th celebration, I can report visiting 37 of 50 states! And more than half of those visits were for national LPA conferences in July.  

            Our reasons for attending 29 conferences in 19 states were diverse—board meetings, leading workshops, Expo coordinator and exhibitor, tourism, and friendships.

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Traveling to and from conferences was part of the adventure. As newlyweds, we arrived at the airport with one bag missing! Each of us assumed the other had loaded the forgotten bag into the cab—the critical bag with all the materials Robert needed for board meetings. Incredibly, he raced home and back to the airport in time to be on the right side of the door when it closed.

Ground transportation was key to navigating destination cities:

  • In California, we hired a car to drive to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco with friends from Little People of New Zealand. Frustrated by lack of direction from his alien passengers, Robert stopped the car on the highway in the yellow-striped V between two lanes that forked in different directions. A motorcycle cop let him off with a warning.
  • In Texas, we delighted in Dallas Area Rapid Transit accessibility with David and Lisa. But it took time to learn the system. Lisa and I boarded successfully and watched David and Robert standing on the platform as the train pulled out of the station.
  • In California, Robert and I rode accessible public buses to the San Diego zoo when no accessible cabs were available.
  • In Colorado, Robert rode in an ambulance to the hospital in respiratory distress while I battled with cab companies that refused to transport me with my scooter. As a sea level resident of Florida, Robert was adversely affected by the mile high altitude of Denver. Upon discharge, he traveled home with a portable oxygen concentrator.

Mostly our appreciation of area attractions came after completion of LPA commitments:

  • In Nevada, we valued a day trip to Virginia City in Bonanza country and rafting on the Truckee River.
  • In Oregon, we witnessed the aftermath of the Mount St. Helens volcanic eruption.
  • In Michigan, Robert—undeterred by Do Not Enter signs—led a group of little people to Tom Thumb’s pool table in a restricted zone of the Henry Ford Museum.
  • In Utah, we took a boat trip on the Great Salt Lake without a fishing pole—the lake is too salty for fish.

In all 19 states, we connected with our LPA family at restaurants, coffee shops, off-site events, chatting in hallways or a quiet corner. We laughed, and smiled, and supported one another. We didn’t always agree and sometimes we annoyed each another, but this community has greatly enriched our lives.

This post includes references to the second and third books in my dwarfism memoir trilogy, “Pass Me Your Shoes: A Couple with Dwarfism Navigates Life’s Detours with Love and Faith” and “Always An Advocate: Champions of Change for People with Dwarfism and Disabilities.” Read more at https://angelamuirvanetten.com.