TAMPA, Fla. — In the Hunt household, two-year-old pup Haydn is much more than a cute face. He also works as a guide dog for Lyn Hunt.
But Hunt tells ABC Action News that the very thing that was supposed to make getting around easier is having the opposite effect.
According to her, ride-share drivers have been denying her rides because of Haydn.
"[It's happened] at least six times," she said.
Hunt said the explanations range from the very specific to the extremely vague.
"He said, 'I have allergies, and I'm not going to take your dog,'" she said, " [Another driver said] 'No, I'm not going to take the dog in my car.'"
She added that those responses are heartbreaking.
"I guess I think, how would people like it if it was them? That's exactly what I think," said Hunt.
According to Disability Rights Florida, those drivers are also breaking the law:
Demand-response transportation examples include taxicabs, limos, and rideshare service programs such as Uber or Lyft. These transportation services are covered under the ADA and therefore must provide access and the service to individuals with service animals.
To get a deeper perspective on this issue, we went to the Lighthouse for the Blind and Low Vision in Tampa.
Orientation and Mobility Instructor Dianne Luce told us the organization's clients often have file complaints with ride-share services.
"And it happens more frequently than we'd like to think," she said, "It might make them feel a little bit better to know, 'Yeah, I called and reported the concern.' But then, generally speaking, there's no way to make up for the fact that they've already missed their ride."
For Luce, the long-term fix is education for everyone in the community.
"Individuals with service animals have a legal right to access public transportation, and that includes fixed route buses, para-transit, as well as ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft," she said.
Driving folks with disabilities is something Mahmoud "Mike" Hamdan, with West Coast Transportation, knows all about.
He's been with the Non-Emergency Medical Transport (NEMT) company for nine years.
And he said the key is not just driver education but also compassion.
"Always, always, always put yourself in the other shoes so you can [fairly] judge the person in front of you and what they're going through," said Hamdan.
However, he adds that good karma doesn't hurt either.
"It's a kind of job with double credit. Like you're making your living, and you have the credit for treating people nice, being fair to them," he said.
It's that awareness for others of all abilities that Hunt said she hopes will sink in.
"Please consider the fact that you might be picking up anybody," she said.
ABC Action News contacted Uber and Lyft to get more information on the situation.
In separate statements, they both said that their policies require drivers to comply with the law when it comes to service animals.
“There is no room for discrimination of any kind in the Uber community. We’re dedicated to providing a safe and positive experience for all users, including those with service animals. We require all drivers who use the app to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and we have a dedicated support team that investigates service denial reports. We are committed to collaborating with advocates and experts to build technology and policies that support accessibility for all.”
Learn more about Uber's accessibility guidelines and how to report an issue here.
"Lyft has a strict Service Animal policy that requires all drivers to accommodate passengers traveling with service animals. We ask that riders report issues immediately."
According to Lyft, riders can submit a "service animal complaint" by calling the Service Animal Hotline at 1-844-554-1297. They can also submit complaints directly in the Lyft app or through the “contact us” button on Lyft’s website.
As far as Hunt's specific case is concerned, Uber is currently investigating.
In the meantime, we also wanted to know what local leaders were doing to make public transportation more accessible to people.
So we spoke with Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera, who is the Chairman of the Board for HART.
He told us that the transportation group is actually holding a series of public meetings with different disability advocates to get direct feedback from them.
When it comes to any immediate improvements, he said they're working to provide extra training to staff to help them become more sensitive to the needs of those with different abilities.
But Viera also added that HART needs more money to help expand its disability services.
"For me, it's about listening to the community and seeing what we can do while showing the community the work that HART does with its resources because we are critically underfunded—the work that we do for the community with disabilities," he said.
According to Viera, HART's next feedback session will be in January, with advocates for those who are visually impaired.
