A Victorian woman is suing Uber in the Federal Court, alleging drivers broke disability discrimination laws by refusing to pick up her guide dog on dozens of occasions.
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00:00If we're going to head off, I might book an Uber, I think.
00:06Most people expect an Uber ride to go off without a hitch.
00:10But for Paula Hobley, refusals have become the norm.
00:13I had the odd taxi refusal early on, but nothing like this.
00:19Paula is blind and a guide dog user.
00:23She relies on taxis and Ubers to get around, but says drivers are increasingly unwilling
00:28to take her guide dog.
00:30There were times where I missed appointments or decided not to go, just based on the probability
00:36that there might be a refusal, given that I've had so many of them.
00:41Paula's now taking Uber to the federal court, alleging that 32 ride refusals between 2021
00:48and 2022 breached disability discrimination laws.
00:52Her legal team says Uber must do better.
00:56They make handsome profits out of this system.
00:59They owe it to the community to make sure that system doesn't discriminate.
01:02Uber has told the ABC it cannot comment directly on the case, but it is committed to working
01:08with stakeholders to prevent ride refusals.
01:11Advocates say the problem has become endemic, and fixing it has unfairly fallen to people
01:16with disability who have no choice but to complain to bodies, including the Human Rights
01:21Commission.
01:22Anywhere a person can go, a guide dog has the right to accompany that person.
01:29And Uber really needs to address this and take responsibility for the discrimination
01:33that is going on.
01:35Being refused service on the basis of having disability is not good enough.
01:40A guide dog is not a pet.
01:42Hoping to get a fair ride for everyone.