Paula Hobley is blind and uses a Guide Dog. She lives in regional Victoria and is unable to drive, so relies on services like Uber to meet friends, do shopping, go to medical appointments and get around.
Between March 2021 and November 2022, Uber drivers refused to pick up Paula on 32 individual occasions after she made a booking and let the driver know she was travelling with her Guide Dog, Vonda. Even though she reported each incident to Uber, the refusals continued.
Paula was represented by the Justice and Equity Centre in a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission alleging discriminatory treatment by Uber and its drivers. The complaint could not be resolved through the Commission’s conciliation process, so Paula has now filed a case in the Federal Court.
Australia’s Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful for a business to discriminate against a person because of their disability, including by refusing access because they use an assistance dog.
Individual Uber drivers can be fined for refusing to pick up a person with an assistance dog but it requires the person with disability to make a formal complaint to a regulator each time (other than in Tasmania where local laws require Uber to proactively pass on complaints made about this kind of refusal). Consequences to drivers can be limited, with the penalty varying between states and territories. In Paula’s home state, Victoria, the fine can be as low as $480.
Paula is demanding that Uber takes responsibility for the actions of its drivers.
Quotes attributable to Paula Hobley:
‘When Uber drivers cancelled on me, I faced long delays trying to secure another ride or was left completely stranded, and missed things like medical appointments and social events. I’m furious that Uber appears to take a ‘softly softly’ approach with drivers.’
‘If I can’t find a driver who will take me to essential appointments, my only other option is a long, indirect trip on public transport. It takes me just 10 minutes to get to one of my appointments by car but nearly an hour on the bus.’
‘After 32 stressful and anxiety-provoking cancellations by Uber, I now carefully weigh the risk of a cancellation and the personal cost of that against the benefit of doing an activity. Sometimes I don’t engage in activities if the personal cost is too high. The refusals are too draining.’
‘I avoid going out at night if I have to rely on a rideshare or taxi service because there’s a risk I won’t be able to get home safely.’
‘I’m not asking for special treatment. I just want drivers to do their job and Uber to enforce that. I need to be able to travel without stress and considerable pre-planning, just like most people do. This is a right, not a privilege. Uber needs to ensure its service doesn’t discriminate against people with disability, including people like me who rely on assistance dogs for our independence.’
Quotes attributable to Jonathon Hunyor, CEO of the Justice and Equity Centre:
‘Uber is a massive international company making significant profits from providing a service in Australia. It has a responsibility to ensure its service complies with Australian laws.’
‘The law in Australia is clear: a business providing a service cannot discriminate against a person with a disability. This sort of repeated conduct by Uber’s drivers shows it’s a problem the company needs to fix.’
‘Uber needs to ensure that people with disability can use its service like everyone else and not be refused a ride because of their disability.’
Quotes attributable to Lee Kumutat, National Advocacy and Policy Manager at Guide Dogs:
‘Unfortunately, Paula is not the only one facing this problem. It’s an all-too-common experience in the Guide Dog community.’
‘Refusals by rideshare drivers and taxis continue to happen too regularly. When Guide Dog Handlers talked to us about challenges, nearly 50% of them said they had issues with a rideshare or taxi company in the past two years. Over one third said their taxi or rideshare was cancelled, while another 15% were ridiculed or discriminated against in some other way in rideshare situations.’
‘Guide Dogs is campaigning for stronger laws and enforcement against rideshare companies such as Uber. Uber should not be above the law when it comes to discrimination.’
Media contact: JEC Media and Communications Manager Dan Buhagiar, 0478 739 280
