Inclusion Matters: Access and Empowerment for Riders and Drivers with Disability in Australia

For the more than 4 million Australians with disability, getting around isn’t always easy. This week the United Nations celebrates its International Day of People with Disability, which aims to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability. We celebrate the importance of removing barriers and increasing participation and inclusion in our Australian society.

Uber is continuing to increase mobility options for riders with disability by working hard to provide inclusive access to safe, reliable and affordable door to door transport. Uber is also highlighting the flexible and well paid nature of ridesharing, which provides much needed economic opportunities to the disabled community.

We wanted to mark this important day with an update on some of the work we’ve been doing to improve Uber’s accessibility for both riders and drivers with disability.

There are a number of ways riding with Uber is easier for riders with disability:

The uberASSIST option is designed to provide additional assistance for members of the community with different accessibility needs.

With uberASSIST, our top driver-partners receive specialised training developed in conjunction with the Australian Network on Disability, on knowledge and safety requirements to best assist people with different accessibility needs.

All uberASSIST driver-partners can accommodate folding wheelchairs, walkers, and collapsible scooters. All Uber driver-partners must accommodate service animals.

Since launching in May, over 400 Uber driver-partners have opted-in to receive uberASSIST training. uberASSIST is currently available in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Perth.

ACCESS uberASSIST IN YOUR CITY

With VoiceOver iOS compatibility, the Uber app provides a safe and reliable transportation option for the visually impaired community. Riders can enable VoiceOver by going to their iPhone’s General Settings and tapping the Accessibility tab. VoiceOver can be used in connection with a wireless braille display.

LISTEN TO THE UBER WITH VOICEOVER IOS PODCAST BY MIKE MAY – CEO OF SENDERO GROUP AND TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANT AT UBER

With various text prompts and visual features, audio is not needed for full functionality of the Uber app. The ease of requesting a ride and getting picked up is hassle-free for any rider. Assistive technology such as visible and vibrating alerts can help riders user the Uber the app easily. In-app features, such as the ability to enter destination, ensure effective communication from the rider to the driver partner.

Uber has leveraged its technology to partner with wheelchair accessible transportation providers in a recent WAV (wheelchair accessible vehicle) pilot in Brisbane, coinciding with the NDIS 2015 Conference. The pilot program is being evaluated to design a best-in-class national program.

In Sydney, riders can request an uberWAT (wheelchair accessible taxi) in the Uber app.

Uber has developed product innovations to make Uber’s economic opportunity easier to access for deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers. 

Driver-partners interested in these features can simply sign into their account and turn these features on. The app updates not only improve the Uber experience for riders and drivers, but also extend the earning opportunity that Uber presents to the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities.

DISCOVER THE APP FEATURES

At Uber, we believe everyone has the right to financial independence, and flexible economic opportunities should be made available to all. We have partnered with Enabled Employment – an innovative start-up run by people with disability for people with disability – to extend flexible economic opportunities to thousands of its disabled members able to drive on the uberX platform.

It is our hope that this partnership will encourage the 53% of people with disability with a driving licence in Australia to consider driving on the uberX platform.

DISCOVER MORE

As we continue to enhance our technology to further increase mobility for riders and drivers with accessibility needs, we want to hear from you. Let us know about your Uber experience and your ideas for how to make it even better as we continue to expand access to reliable transportation options around the world.