The lawsuit alleges that Uber charged the
fees even when it was aware that a delay was
disability-based.
Uber said it has been in active discussions with
the Justice Department and was surprised and
disappointed by the lawsuit.
“Wait time fees are charged to all riders to
compensate drivers after two minutes of
waiting, but were never intended for riders who
are ready at their designated pickup location but
need more time to get into the car,” Uber said in
a statement.
Uber said its policy is to refund wait time fees
for disabled riders whenever they alerted
the company they were changed. As of last
week, any rider who certifies they are disabled
will have the fees automatically waived, the
company said.
The San Francisco-based company says the
average wait time fee charged to riders is less
than 60 cents.
“We fundamentally disagree that our policies
violate the ADA and will keep improving our
products to support everyone’s ability to easily
move around their communities,” Uber said.
The lawsuit asks the court to order Uber to
change its policy, train its staff and drivers and
pay monetary damages to people who were
subject to wait time fees that violated the ADA.
It also wants Uber to pay civil penalties.