May 12, 2021
To Whom It May Concern:
On Thursday, April 29th, 2021, I had started requesting rides from Lyft drivers at 10:35 am to get from my home in Midlothian, Illinois to Palos Medical Group in Orland Park, Illinois at 11:30 am. Normally, there is a simple process, I request, the driver accepts, and we get from my house to the doctor's office in about 40 minutes barring any traffic beyond our control.
Unfortunately, on the 29th, it was ANYTHING, but normal! In the 30 minutes from 10:35 am to 11:05 am, I was accepted by and then dropped by at least 3 Lyft drivers for unknown reasons. Each one would take a 5-to-10-minute drive toward my house and then cancel. I had NEVER seen anything like this before.
Once it got around 11:05 am, I had to make an emergency call to my doctor's office and my retired friend from church who, luckily, was able to take me to the appointment. Even with that though, the doctor was kind enough to see me 25 minutes late. We got to the office around 11:55 am. Remember, the travel from my house to the doctor's office is about 40 minutes.
It has been almost a week now since this has happened. At first, I was going to file formal complaints with "everyone under the sun," but now after dealing with work and other significant issues, I am not sure what I want to do anymore, or if anyone can investigate what happened.
Some of this is writing therapy now. It is truly working. Beyond this, I will publish my report, but I am having trouble deciding where to post it. Should I use my blog, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or some other social media account to spread the word?
As a legally blind person, dependent on some form of public or ride-sharing program, it truly put my body into a state of distress.
Addendum from a newer ride on Friday, May 7th, 2021. While trapped at my place of employment while my wife was admitted to the hospital, I had NO CHOICE, but to call for a ride. This time, I used the priority rate. My suspicion, based on my conversation with the OUTSTANDING driver, was that when I did paid priority he was TAKEN away from another passenger by the system and sent to me because I offered an extra $5 or so. (see pictures below) TALK ABOUT SYSTEMATIC DISCRIMINATION! All passengers should be treated equally! Even those hiring the Limo services and others on the higher end deserve the same respect as those needing a five-minute ride home because they are otherwise stranded for whatever reason!
This ride and the screenshots to go with have greatly educated me on how this discrimination is created, executed, and perpetuated. Now the question becomes, how do we stop it, and when will enough people stand up and say NO!!!!
Finally, for those Uber drivers reading this letter, DO NOT think that "...you are the saviors of everybody's souls here in Beaumont." (Footloose, 1984) I could easily be writing a similar paper about how I was forced out of an Uber car by the driver after the system told the driver to take me twenty blocks farther north than was requested. The driver's final words were "get out, I have to go pick up another ride!" This all happened with another passenger in the car. Too bad, I did not think of taking screenshots that day. In case Uber is interested in getting to the bottom of what happened, the date was on or around January 31st, 2020. It was a short ride request from professional development at a school located near 103rd Street by the Red Line to 87th and Halsted. In the end, I am forced out of the car at 63rd and Halsted by the hospital and must walk to the Red Line to either head to work or my wife's office where she works with five lawyers who know other lawyers.
Uber, your problem could be two-fold, systemic and personnel. Lyft, your problem seems to be purely systematic. The solution is to simplify the system. Get rid of the "cutting in line" and serve people as they come.
Hopefully, some form of rectification can be found for such an unacceptable event. Personally, I cannot think of a good compensation for all this time and effort, but for the community and society at large, these acts of discrimination MUST END NOW!!!
Your Loyal Customer,
Steven M. Ohren, M.Ed., TIC, LBS1
smohren@gmail.com
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