Lyft repeatedly denying ride to blind woman with a service dog

Jamie Crowell is blind, but she finds, oftentimes, what holds her back are people who can see who are unaware of the discrimination she faces. "[Blindness] hasn't been a problem for me, except I have problems with other people, sighted people, not knowing what to do," she said. Jamie Crowell says she has been denied rides because of her service dog Born without sight, the 41-year-old Charlotte woman relies on her service dog, Carol, to lead the way. More times than she can count, she said others haven't seen the service animal as her legal right. "I've gotten it so bad recently," Crowell said. "I'm done." She said Lyft drivers regularly deny her a ride because of her guide dog, which is not only a violation of the company's policy but a violation of the law. "I walked out one day to go to the store, and this guy starts yelling at me, 'No dogs! No dogs! ... I won't let you bring a dog into my car,' and he locked the door," she recalled. She said her most recent, negative Lyft encounter took place outside a Charlotte PetSmart. "Oh, I was mad," Crowell admitted. "This lady pulls up and she says, 'I don't do animals,' and in my head, I'm like, 'Well, you did come to PetSmart. What did you expect?' The whole time she kept saying, 'I'm allergic to dogs.' Well, that's not an excuse." Lyft's policy on service animals Lyft's service animal policy reminds drivers to "Always say yes," but Crowell's experience suggests that message isn't reaching every driver. Crowell said Lyft drivers have illegally denied her a ride "too many [times] to count." "The crime is discrimination," she said. "To me, it's social injustice. You deny a ride from me one more time, and you're going to wish you hadn't." History of problems with Lyft and Uber Crowell's problem is not new. Both Lyft and Uber entered into settlement agreements with the National Federation of the Blind nearly five years ago. The companies promised to improve training and terminate drivers who knowingly or repeatedly deny rides. However, the most recent data published in 2020 by NFB, show discrimination persists with Lyft drivers denying 25% of test rides in cities across the country. A Lyft report identified 119 denials due to a service animal during a series of 476 test rides between March 1, 2019, and February 29, 2020. "You never know when you order one of these vehicles when you're going to [actually] get a ride," NFB Public Relations Director Chris Danielsen said. "It just hurts to be discriminated against." Danielsen said the NFB prefers to resolve ongoing discrimination through collaboration with ride-share companies but said the organization "will explore other options" if needed. "Uber and Lyft have really transformed the transportation landscape for blind people as they have for many other people. They're such a quick and convenient means of transportation and it's really liberated a lot of blind people, but, of course, that liberation doesn't happen when we're denied rides," Danielsen said. "It's unlawful." How Crowell typically gets around Crowell knows she is not alone. "I am not the only one," she said. "I have a friend who lives across town who faces this and I think, at some point, has faced it more than I have." Crowell said she primarily uses a taxi cab, paid for by social services, to get to and from her full-time job, but the rest of the time, she relies on Lyft. She said the recurring denials are not only infuriating, but they're also interfering with her quality of life. WCNC Charlotte connected Crowell to the NFB to possibly be a resource for her going forward.