# Driver canned for kicking out blind man and his dog



## Mista T (Aug 16, 2017)

Guess the attitude of "My car, my rules" backfired on this driver.

(Link not working)

Lyft driver banned for kicking blind man, guide dog out of car
By Jackie Salo

April 18, 2019 | 12:29pm



A Lyft driver was booted from the ride-sharing app for kicking a blind man — and his guide dog — out of his car, according to a report.

Charles Massey said he ordered a Lyft on April 6 in Grand Terrace, Calif., to pick him up with his pooch named Jedi — but the driver didn’t want to give the pair a ride, news station KCBS reported.

When the car arrived, Massey climbed into the vehicle, along with his 8-year-old yellow lab, and closed the door, according to the station.

The unidentified driver, however, reportedly demanded they leave because he didn’t want Jedi to damage the leather seats.

“So I put Jedi on the floor and he still wasn’t happy and he says I’ve got to get out of the car,” Massey told KCBS.


When Massey protested, the driver called 911 on him for refusing to get out of the car.

The officer who responded to the scene then took Massey and his service dog home, KCBS reported.

Lyft banned the driver following the incident — but Massey said the incident has made him hesitant to use ride-sharing apps.

“It’s not what I feel at that time,” Massey said. “It’s what I feel the next time I call for a ride because I’m thinking, ‘Oh God.'”

The company released a statement saying all drivers are required to accommodate service animals.

“Any form of discrimination on our platform is simply unacceptable,” a spokesperson said. “Lyft has a strict Service Animal policy that requires all drivers to accommodate passengers traveling with service animals, and we take any allegation of this nature very seriously,”


----------



## The_Solo (Feb 23, 2019)

Well duh! Nothing new to see here.


----------



## Pax Collector (Feb 18, 2018)

No shit....


----------



## beebob (Apr 9, 2019)

The Borg:
Resist assimilation =
deactivated


----------



## No Prisoners (Mar 21, 2019)

beebob said:


> The Borg:
> Resist assimilation =
> deactivated


Excellent. ? ? 
?


----------



## goneubering (Aug 17, 2017)

Mista T said:


> Guess the attitude of "My car, my rules" backfired on this driver.
> 
> (Link not working)
> 
> ...


You can't fix stupid.


----------



## Bubsie (Oct 19, 2017)

Why on earth did the driver not have the doors locked upon arrival? Could have avoided the ejection and just cancelled (not that I would).


----------



## BigRedDriver (Nov 28, 2018)

Bubsie said:


> Why on earth did the driver not have the doors locked upon arrival? Could have avoided the ejection and just cancelled (not that I would).


What difference would that make? He'd be deactivated the minute it was reported anyway.


----------



## No Prisoners (Mar 21, 2019)

beebob said:


> The Borg:
> Resist assimilation =
> deactivated


This can really take off. Imagine a viral tweeter campaign promulgating the analogy of Uber and THE BORG. Always cap THE BORG. 
Done correctly the image of THE BORG can become synonymous to Uber. 
Every driver has a phone and plenty of dead time, thus should have a tweeter account. If not then its time to get one and start tweeting.


----------



## IthurstwhenIP (Jan 12, 2018)

No Prisoners said:


> This can really take off. Imagine a viral tweeter campaign promulgating the analogy of Uber and THE BORG. Always cap THE BORG.
> Done correctly the image of THE BORG can become synonymous to Uber.
> Every driver has a phone and plenty of dead time, thus should have a tweeter account. If not then its time to get one and start tweeting.


You should just get a career in social media marketing, genius


----------



## Bubsie (Oct 19, 2017)

BigRedDriver said:


> What difference would that make? He'd be deactivated the minute it was reported anyway.


He could have driven by seen the dog and blind man and cancelled, dont charge rider. The blind pax would have gotten another driver, and probably not reported the cancelling driver. Dont get me wrong, I think its a scummy thing for the driver to do what he did. But letting them get in the car then calling the police to get them out? Begging for deactivation.


----------



## beebob (Apr 9, 2019)

No Prisoners said:


> Excellent. ??
> ?


https://kutv.com/news/offbeat/man-told-to-remove-offensive-star-trek-themed-license-plate
??‍♂


----------



## uberdriverfornow (Jan 10, 2016)

the fact that the pax was blind shoulda made it more obvious the dog was a service dog


----------



## Immoralized (Nov 7, 2017)

DW guys his still driving full time for Uber and kicking out blind pax & their guide dogs. More work on Uber anyways :redface:


----------



## The Texan (Mar 1, 2019)

While we're talking about blind folks,

Recently I've taken 2 totally blind couples.The first was going about 0.7 miles to a Best Buy- no problem.

The 2nd couple and a dog- are you ready for this?

I picked them up at the U/L lot at Miller Park! The stadium the Milwaukee Brewers play in!
YES- totally blind couple- going to the ballpark to 'hear' the game!!

This was an AWESOME couple. As soon as I pulled up- she asked to put my passenger seat all the way forward- check.
Dog on floorboard, them in 2nd row seats too.
They were great, and she knew the streets they were going to as a destination. So, along with other great conversation, when we got near the drop off, I was menton the streets on where we were, 'cause I thought I knew that they knew where we were in relation to their building.
When I mentioned one of them, sure enough, she said 'Oh good, 2 blocks away', which of course we were.
They also had some kind of app on their smart phones, that was reading every thing to them at a very high speed.

Both= A couple no dog, one w/ dog- both no problems at all! I loved it!


----------



## No Prisoners (Mar 21, 2019)

I don't have problems with four legged animals. Pun intended.


----------



## MHR (Jul 23, 2017)

The Texan said:


> I picked them up at the U/L lot at Miller Park! The stadium the Milwaukee Brewers play in!
> YES- totally blind couple- going to the ballpark to 'hear' the game!!


Glad you had the opportunity to see that blind folks can function quite well in an environment designed for sighted people.

We go "see" fireworks every 4th of July. My son judges the quality of the show based upon the sounds he heard.


----------



## BuckleUp (Jan 18, 2018)

The Texan said:


> While we're talking about blind folks,
> 
> Recently I've taken 2 totally blind couples.The first was going about 0.7 miles to a Best Buy- no problem.
> 
> ...


Wow! Glad you're enjoying rideshare!



Mista T said:


> Guess the attitude of "My car, my rules" backfired on this driver.
> 
> (Link not working)
> 
> ...


Ant wasn't smart.
Nothing wrong with not wanting damage to leather seats - Uber/Lyft ain't going to pay to fix damage, neither is the paxhole.
Hence nothing wrong with not wanting animals in the car.
Mistake was letting the dog in.
Should have cancelled on approach soon as he saw dog.


----------



## 49matrix (Feb 3, 2015)

Mista T said:


> Guess the attitude of "My car, my rules" backfired on this driver.
> 
> (Link not working)
> 
> ...


Perhaps a blind person could use the voice activated device to alert a driver that they are visually handicapped and have a service dog? If you have allergies to animal dander or want to keep your car dander free for pax with allergies you would have the option to cancel ride at no rider cost. Even service animals have dander, the driver should have the option to cancel.


----------



## Rosalita (May 13, 2018)

I have transported many a blind person, some with service dogs. It seems like a small thing to expect a blind person to automatically place the dog on the floor board and not permit the dog to be up on the seat. But alas, what many of us consider "small things" turns into "big things" regarding the expectations of others.

When picking up a blind person with a service dog or anyone else with a service dog: I get out of my vehicle to assist their entry into the car for two reasons: 1. To demonstrate my customer service skills; and, 2.) To be able to say clearly, "We need to put your dog on the floor board for the ride." I don't ask. I don't tell. I don't send it to committee for approval. It's for the dog's comfort and safety he/sjhe not be up on the bench seats.



Mista T said:


> Guess the attitude of "My car, my rules" backfired on this driver.
> 
> (Link not working)
> 
> ...


That pax can ease his own stress and that of his next ride share driver by indicating upon pick up and before he enters the vehicle that he's placing his dog in the floorboard. Wow.


----------



## Disgusted Driver (Jan 9, 2015)

49matrix said:


> Perhaps a blind person could use the voice activated device to alert a driver that they are visually handicapped and have a service dog? If you have allergies to animal dander or want to keep your car dander free for pax with allergies you would have the option to cancel ride at no rider cost. Even service animals have dander, the driver should have the option to cancel.


Seriously? Please take a moment and read any one of the threads about ADA compliance. You don't get a choice on whether to pick up or not, that's the law. If you can't handle dogs because you are allergic then you shouldn't be driving.


----------



## Lee239 (Mar 24, 2017)

He should be more than fired. It should be illegal to discriminate against the disabled and he should at least be forced to do community service at a home for the blind.


----------



## RogueErik (Feb 20, 2018)

The Texan said:


> While we're talking about blind folks,
> 
> Recently I've taken 2 totally blind couples.The first was going about 0.7 miles to a Best Buy- no problem.
> 
> ...


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Lucas
This is the uncle of a friend of mine, not sure how it works but it did...


----------



## Ballermaris (Apr 11, 2019)

I have two rescue dogs, that will at times have to ride in my Jeep. No biggie for picking up guide dogs, or yes even a cat or two in a carrier.


----------



## dauction (Sep 26, 2017)

Mista T said:


> Guess the attitude of "My car, my rules" backfired on this driver.


:laugh::roflmao:


----------



## Phantomshark (Jan 21, 2018)

People who are saying he should have cancelled as soon as he saw the dog need to be let go. Maybe spend a night in jail. Surprised the cops that responded didn't arrest the driver, I would have. We can discuss all day how to avoid fake service animals if you don't want them, but this was obviously a legit animal and its the law. Not a policy. THE LAW!


----------



## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

On the bright side, the pax will have received the $25 bonus for getting the driver fired. Should be able to buy Jedi some nice little doggie treats with that.


----------



## Julescase2 (Apr 1, 2019)

Bubsie said:


> He could have driven by seen the dog and blind man and cancelled, dont charge rider. The blind pax would have gotten another driver, and probably not reported the cancelling driver. Dont get me wrong, I think its a scummy thing for the driver to do what he did. But letting them get in the car then calling the police to get them out? Begging for deactivation.


Darwinism at its finest.


----------

