Uber Technologies will pay $ 2.2 million to settle a federal lawsuit centered on the shared travel company charging an additional “waiting time fare” for disabled passengers, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday.
Federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit against Uber in November, alleging that the company had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by adding a specific fee for the disabled. Fee amounts varied from city to city and depended on how long the driver would have to wait, depending on demand.
Federal officials argued that Uber should not charge a customer more just because it takes someone a few more minutes to get to their trip.
“People with disabilities must have access to shared travel services provided by Uber and similar companies without incurring discriminatory waiting time rates,” Stephanie Hinds, a U.S. attorney for the California District of Justice Department, said in a statement Monday.
Uber launched its time-out policy in some cities in April 2016 and then took it across the country some time later, according to the agency. Under the federal agreement, Uber will no longer charge the fare.
About $ 1.7 million of the deal will be used to reimburse 1,159 Uber customers who complained to Uber about the fare, according to court documents. An additional $ 500,000 will be used to compensate a separate group of clients who complained to the Justice Department. In all, about 65,000 Uber customers will receive money as part of the deal, the Justice Department said.
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“People with disabilities should not be made to feel second-class citizens or punished because of their disability, which is exactly what Uber’s time-out fare policy did.” , said Kristen Clarke, deputy attorney general for the Justice Department, in a statement.
Uber said in a statement that it is satisfied with the deal, noting that the company had previously “made changes so that any user who shares who has a disability does not have the waiting time expenses automatically.”
“Our policy has long been to reimburse waiting time rates for disabled motorists when we were notified that they were charged,” the company said.
Uber also faces a separate lawsuit in which more than 500 women have alleged they were assaulted by drivers. In a complaint filed last week in San Franciscothe women said they were abducted, sexually assaulted and, in some cases, beaten or raped.
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