If you're running late for a Lyft ride, be prepared to shell out some extra cash
Lyft, the popular ride-hailing service, has recently introduced wait time fees for tardiness, joining its competitor Uber in implementing such a policy. The new policy, which charges for every minute of tardiness beyond two minutes (or 5 minutes for luxury rides) from the scheduled arrival time, was announced in December 2022 and first reported by Tech Crunch on Tuesday.
However, the policy does not explicitly address passengers with disabilities or detail specific measures Lyft has implemented to ensure compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA, transportation services like Lyft are required to accommodate passengers with disabilities and cannot impose penalties that discriminate against them for disability-related delays. Companies typically must provide reasonable accommodations such as additional wait time without penalty or alternative arrangements to comply with ADA requirements.
The search results mostly focus on a recent settlement involving Uber and Lyft regarding driver earnings and insurance coverage, with no mention of wait time fees or ADA-specific accommodations for passengers. This suggests no publicly available detailed information in these sources about Lyft's specific wait time fee impact on disabled passengers or ADA compliance measures.
It is worth noting that Uber faced a lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2021 for violating the ADA via wait time fees. The suit argued that Uber failed to reasonably accommodate passengers with disabilities who need additional time or assistance to get into a vehicle. Uber had to agree to more clearly advertise its wait time fee waiver program and a refund option for passengers with disabilities as part of the settlement.
Lyft, on the other hand, includes information about a disability waiver for wait time fees in its explanation of the charge scheme. Riders can request a refund if they've been wrongfully charged a wait time fee by Lyft. However, the cost of the wait time fees varies from place to place, and Lyft's company spokesperson declined to provide more details about the cost on record.
The wait time fees will not apply to Lyft Shared, Access, Assisted, and Car Seat rides. If a ride is cancelled by the driver, the passenger will only be subject to the cancellation charge, not the cost of the intervening minutes.
While the details about Lyft's ADA compliance measures for its wait time fees policy are not yet clear, it is essential for the company to ensure that its policies do not discriminate against passengers with disabilities. Additional, direct Lyft policy sources or legal filings might provide those details in the future.
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