Last week, a Bay Area advocacy group filed a class action lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc., claiming the ride-hailing company discriminated against wheelchair users. The suit, filed by Disability Rights Advocates, argues that those in wheelchairs who use San Francisco-based Uber's services don't receive the same access as others, because they allegedly face much longer wait times and are often told no accessible vehicles are available.

“For us, the bottom line is that, from a user's perspective, we want our clients and people like them to be able to go on an app like Uber and be able to call an Uber to come pick them up, and in a reliable fashion, like for people who don't use wheelchairs,” said Melissa Riess, a Berkeley-based staff attorney for DRA. “That would be tremendously liberating for them.” 

Riess noted that this suit, filed in the Alameda County Superior Court, isn't the first of its kind. In July 2017, DRA filed a suit in New York City, containing similar allegations. In both cases, Riess said, the issue of Uber's accessibility is compounded by the fact that the growth of the sharing economy has led to a decrease in more traditional taxis. Taxi companies are often required to provide a certain number of wheelchair accessible vehicles under local regulations.

Uber, which did not reply to request for comment for this story, isn't alone in facing accessibility questions. Other players in the sharing economy, including rival Lyft Inc. and online hospitality service Airbnb Inc. have also faced legal action and criticism over accessibility issues in the past.

Because sharing economy companies often rely on the labor and personal property of those legally categorized as independent contractors, not employees, the solution to accessibility issues is complicated.

Danielle Urban, a partner at Fisher & Phillips, said there have been some major upsides to the growth of the sharing economy. “It's made transportation more affordable, and created TaskRabbit, where before you'd have to hire an expensive laborer. There are some pluses to it,” she said. “On the flip side, Airbnb in particular, as well as Uber, come to mind as presenting issues.”

She noted that some of the issues could stem from a lack of education for hosts or drivers, who may not be trained on how to work with users of different accessibility levels or meet their needs, or may occasionally harbor prejudices. In this case, Urban said sharing economy companies can require education or have a strict service policy against discriminatory drivers or hosts.

“The problem with training, of course, is you also are trying to walk the fine line of not making them employees, wanting them to be contractors,” Urban said.

She added, there's a bigger issue if the contract workers delivering sharing economy services don't have accessible vehicles or homes.

If sharing economy companies are perceived as too strict about how work is to be performed, with training or vehicle requirements, it's possible courts could rule that the drivers and hosts currently listed as independent contractors are actually employees, and entitled to health insurance or other benefits.

To solve an issue like this one, which is at the center of the current Bay Area lawsuit, Urban said sharing economy companies may have to provide incentives for drivers and hosts willing to get and provide wheelchair accessible accommodations.

Some of these companies have been successful in increasing accessibility by partnering with organizations already providing such services. In November 2017, Airbnb acquired Accomable, a London startup that lists accessible places to stay.

Uber has piloted programs in cities including Toronto, where the company partnered with accessible transportation company Dignity Transportation Inc. to provide Uber's ride-hailing services. Dignity Transportation's services would typically cost much more than Uber's, but users who order through the app will be able to pay lower prices, thanks to subsidies provided by Uber. A similar service does not yet exist in the Bay Area.

“It's been an incredible value add for me and others with disabilities in Toronto who need to access transportation, and now we have the opportunity because of Uber,” said Maayan Ziv, the founder and chief executive officer of Access Now, who worked with Uber to create the pilot. “Now a wait time would be max 10 minutes. I can call for a car and jump into an accessible vehicle just like someone who doesn't use a wheelchair.”

Ziv has heard the arguments about why sharing economy companies, in a market where she said “people with disabilities are often left out of the equation,” can't balance accessibility with the contract-worker system. But she said Uber's pilot in Toronto and Airbnb's acquisition of Accomable show that these are just excuses.

“There are a million and one reasons why people will justify why their business can not be accessible,” she said. “There are solutions. There are ways to make things accessible. Make intentional points to be inclusive so you are not accidentally exclusive. In Toronto, it's a really good example of sometimes you have to think outside the box. It's not a one size fits all.”