Tried to go out to the city with my older sister today and we decided to Uber because the street cars were busy that time of day. She puts into her Uber account that we’re travelling with a service dog and when a driver accepts us she direct messages them to tell them again that we have a service dog. The Uber driver replies back to us saying that was ok. The Uber driver pulls up outside her apartment and immediately tries starting shit, refusing to take us because of my service dog and insisting that we need to pay for the more expensive Uber Pet. We say no and explain that my dog is not a pet, and under both provincial law and Uber’s own policies, service dogs must be allowed into regular Ubers and handlers cannot be charged extra for simply having their service dog with them. We show the driver both a copy of the provincial laws and Uber’s own privacy policy but he still refuses to take us, cancels our ride and drives off.
We try our luck again, still determined to get our sister’s day out in the city. We do the same thing as the first time, we request for a ride then message the driver that we have a service dog travelling with us. We get no response but he still shows up. Again, we are refused service and he tries to push the more expensive Uber Pet onto us. When we show him both the provincial laws and Uber’s policies regarding service dogs, he still refuses to take us and tries to pressure my sister into cancelling the ride so he doesn’t get penalized for it. She refuses, saying that he can either cancel it himself or he can take us. He ends up cancelling the ride and driving off.
After both back-to-back access issues, my older sister was practically fuming. She couldn’t understand why we were experiencing this. The laws are clear, along with Uber’s policies. Both men had knowingly violated my rights as a disabled person and broken the law. I wasn’t very fazed, I had experienced this before. In other Ubers, in restaurants, in movie theatres and escape rooms, and even in doctor’s offices. Yes, I’ve had an actual medical doctor refuse to see me for a long scheduled appointment solely because of the fact that I have a service dog travelling. But I’ve never had any particular business refuse me service based on the fact of my disability more than Uber. It’s at the point where I try to avoid Uber like the plague. I’m capable of driving and am fortunate enough to have my own car, so that generally isn’t an issue, but that wasn’t an option this time, and my service dog struggles a bit on the streetcars. She’s a country girl, she’s trying her best. But when my sister ordered an Uber I was honestly expecting to have a bit of difficulty. When I mentioned this to my sister, she assured me that it would be fine. After all, it’s illegal for them to refuse me service. She was unfortunately in for a rude awakening.
After working with my service dog for three years now, I’ve gotten used to dealing with access issues, as sad as that sounds. I’ve told people about what that’s like, but my experiences and concerns are usually brushed off with “they can’t do that, that’s illegal!!” To have a non-handler experience these issues first hand with me is honestly a bit validating, as awful as it is. For others to finally see what I have to go through and just how much I have to fight just to be allowed to exist in public spaces. I shouldn’t have to spend my time convincing random stranger I don’t know that I am actually allowed in the grocery store with my service dog just so I can pick up a thing of milk. I should be able to go to the movie theatres with my family without having to explain how accessibility laws work to the employees. I should be able to exist out in public without having to justify my presence to the world. I’m going to go out and live my life and do things with the people I love, and if you have a problem with me or my dog being in public, that’s not my problem. I’m allowed to be here just as much as anyone else.
