Access Living friends and allies,
Tomorrow afternoon, the National Council on Disability (NCD) wants to hear from people with disabilities who rely on Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) in rideshare, taxis, and paratransit.
Tomorrow is the NCD quarterly meeting which is open to the public online. At 3 pm Central Time (4 pm Eastern Time) NCD wants to hear from members of the public regarding WAVs. NCD is working on a new report about problems with access to WAV transit. There are two ways to send input, by email to publiccomment@ncd.gov or by participating in tomorrow’s online Zoom meeting. The NCD guidelines for public comment are at this page. Below, we share what NCD is looking for, and how to participate online.
What NCD wants to know:
1. Please share your experience(s) in obtaining wheelchair accessible taxis or rideshares (e.g. Uber, Lyft).
2. If you requested a wheelchair accessible van (WAV) through a taxi company, did the company have a WAV? If the company did not have WAVs in its fleet, did the taxi service offer to provide you a WAV through a different company? Was the price comparable to a non-accessible taxi?
3. If you requested a WAV from a rideshare company, did the company have a WAV? If not, were you referred to a service that did? Was the price comparable to a non-accessible rideshare?
4. Have you filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. Department of Transportation about discrimination by a taxi company or a rideshare regarding lack of WAVs? If so, what was the result?
5. Is paratransit available in your neighborhood? What are the pros and cons of using this service? What should be changed?
How to participate live this afternoon:
This meeting will be on Zoom. Registration is not required, but appreciated via the NCD Eventbrite page. If you plan to make a comment however, registration is required.
Interested parties are encouraged to join the meeting in an attendee status by Zoom Desktop Client, Mobile App, or Telephone to dial-in. To join the Zoom webinar click here or copy and paste the link below into your browser.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87206638472?pwd=S3YzSEt6U0pZK2RwY2oyOFVDblhsUT09
or enter Webinar ID: 872 0663 8472 in the Zoom app. The passcode is: 378669.
If you miss tomorrow’s meeting, please consider sending in your answers to the above NCD questions as soon as you can to publiccomment@ncd.gov. Please share with all wheelchair users nationwide!
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