Are Ride-hail Companies Serving Wheelchair Users in San Francisco?

Are Ride-hail Companies Serving Wheelchair Users in San Francisco?
By Maddy Ruvolo

woman pushing a woman in a wheelchair on Chestnut Street

Since 2013, ride-hail companies, also known as Transportation Network Companies or TNCs, have become increasingly visible on San Francisco’s streets. In the area of disability access and TNCs, while some individuals have reported increased mobility and independence because of TNCs, wheelchair users have largely been unable to use the service. Ride hailing apps generally did not offer wheelchair accessible vehicles—nor were they required to do so by the CPUC.

While the SFMTA and our sister agency, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA) do not have the authority to regulate these services—a job entrusted statewide to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)—we have worked together to pay close attention to the impact they have on our transportation network and shaped our areas of studies, policies, and programs accordingly. For example, over the years, the City has documented how well these services do or do not meet San Francisco’s Guiding Principles for Emerging Mobility Services, helping to shape policy and recommendations around our congestion and disability access goals.

A move in the right direction: the TNC Access for All Act

For this reason, San Francisco was proud to support the TNC Access for All Act, signed into law by then-Governor Jerry Brown in 2018. The bill requires the CPUC to develop regulations relating to accessibility for persons with disabilities, including wheelchair users who need a wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV). The bill also created a financial incentive for TNCs to increase accessibility by imposing a per-trip fee on all TNC rides in the state. The funds from this fee are then used to reimburse ride hailing companies for their expenses if they demonstrate they are improving access to WAVs on their platforms. If a company does not meet the requirements established for reimbursement, or if they do not provide WAV services in a county at all, the collected fees are deposited into an “Access Fund” for other eligible providers to help provide on-demand WAV services in that area instead.

Since July 2019, TNCs have collected a 10-cent fee for every non-WAV trip in California. While the CPUC has not yet distributed funds to non-TNC providers as part of the Access Fund, we have started to receive data on how TNCs like Uber and Lyft are trying to improve WAV services in the few counties for which information has been reported.

So, how do we know if wheelchair accessible TNC services are improving in San Francisco and throughout the state?

For TNCs to keep the fees they are collecting to pay for WAV services, companies like Uber and Lyft must demonstrate to the CPUC that their WAV services are meeting certain quarterly performance requirements. The CPUC requires TNCs seeking reimbursement to submit reports, called “Advice Letters,” to the CPUC and anyone registered on the CPUC’s official “service list.” These reports are a series of PDF and Excel files that include aggregated data by county on service aspects like number of trip requests and rate of fulfillment, hours of service provided, response times (the time between requesting a trip and receiving a ride), expenses incurred, complaints received, and outreach performed.

All of the information provided in these Advice Letters is incredibly valuable for understanding the state of wheelchair accessible TNC service throughout California. However, the way CPUC requires the TNCs to file the information to a small group and in a difficult-to-read format has limited the utility of the data. Until now! In 2021, the SFMTA and SFCTA were chosen to participate in the San Francisco Office of Civic Innovation’s Civic Bridge Program. Through this program, we were matched with pro-bono partner ZS Associates to develop publicly available data dashboards to display key pieces of the data submitted by TNCs.

The dashboards, which are now hosted on our website, feature the following tabs: Total Trips Requested and Completed, Trips Requested and Completed by Operator, Average Number of WAVs Available Each Hour, Trips Requested – Completed and Cancelled, Response Time, TNC Expenses, and TNC Complaints.

The Trips tabs show requested and completed WAV trips, as well as cancellations. The Response Time tab includes a breakdown of the average time between passenger request and driver arrival. The Expenses tab includes program expenditures by spending category (and note that “Partnership Costs” include most of the direct costs of providing WAV service—usually the amount paid to a contractor who is providing WAV trips for the TNC. “Operational Costs” are primarily overhead). Finally, the Complaints tab categorizes the complaints reported about the TNCs’ WAV service. Each tab can be viewed by vendor (currently Lyft, Uber, or Nomad), county, year, and quarter.

We are pleased to make this important reporting data more publicly accessible, and encourage you to explore the dashboards.

Published January 11, 2022 at 02:51AM
https://ift.tt/3K93zzk

Comments

New top story from Time: How the Tech Industry Can Help to Strengthen Democracy Over the Next Decade

https://ift.tt/3ikqTgX Over the next decade, democratic governments will be tested by the rise of China . They will have to prove to their citizens and those of developing nations that democracy can deliver widespread economic growth, stability and security in the modern world. Once again there will be a global competition between two very different forms of government, and right now the outcome is uncertain. For democracies to win this contest, they will need to leverage software to deliver more prosperity to a wider cross section of their populations, while still preserving individual rights. They have powerful potential allies in the private tech sector who could be of service building and selling industry-leading software to democratic governments. They should be intrinsically motivated because helping preserve democracy also safeguards the marketplace rules these companies depend upon to generate financial returns. In the following 10 years, the chief executive officers o...

New top story from Time: Simone Biles Pulls Out of Olympic Vault and Uneven Bars Finals

https://ift.tt/378sUXI Simone Biles has withdrawn from the event finals for vault and uneven bars at the Tokyo Olympics. USA Gymnastics announced the news in a statement on July 31, adding that Biles will continue to be evaluated to determine if she will compete in the women’s floor exercise and balance beam finals. The floor exercise will take place on Aug. 2 and the balance beam final will be held on Aug. 3 After further consultation with medical staff, Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the event finals for vault and the uneven bars. She will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether to compete in the finals for floor exercise and balance beam. pic.twitter.com/kWqgZJK4LJ — USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) July 31, 2021 Biles pulled out of the team and individual all-around competitions , citing the need to focus on her mental health . She has also shared that she is experienced the “ twisties ,” a condition in which gymnasts lose their sense of orientation...

New top story from Time: Hurricane Ida Winds Hit 150 MPH Ahead of Louisiana Strike

https://ift.tt/3jmdoyl NEW ORLEANS — Hurricane Ida rapidly grew in strength early Sunday, becoming a dangerous Category 4 hurricane just hours before hitting the Louisiana coast while emergency officials in the region grappled with opening shelters for displaced evacuees despite the risks of spreading the coronavirus. As Ida moved through some of the warmest ocean water in the world in the northern Gulf of Mexico, its top winds grew by 45 mph (72 kph) to 150 mph (230 kph) in five hours. The system was expected to make landfall Sunday afternoon, set to arrive on the exact date Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi 16 years earlier. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The hurricane center said Ida is forecast to hit at 155 mph (250 kph), just 1 mph shy of a Category 5 hurricane. Only four Category 5 hurricanes have made landfall in the United States: Michael in 2018, Andrew in 1992, Camille in 1969 and the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. Both Michael and Andrew were u...

New top story from Time: Simone Biles Has the Twisties. What Are They, and Why Are They So Dangerous?

https://ift.tt/3xcPDN4 After completing her first vault in the women’s gymnastics’ team competition in Tokyo, the reigning Olympic all-around champion looked worried. Simone Biles didn’t seem in pain, and wasn’t limping or grimacing. But she was seriously concerned. Biles was supposed to do two and a half twists in the air after launching off the vault but once airborne, she lost her bearings and only completed one and a half. She immediately knew something was wrong. And every gymnast can relate. Biles has since said that the combination of mental stress and pressure leading up to the Olympics have affected her confidence. But, more importantly, she felt a disconnect between her mind and body; her body was no longer doing what she wanted it to. Whatever the trigger, gymnasts call this the “twisties.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “If you say ‘twisties’ every gymnast knows what you’re talking about,” says Jordyn Wieber, member of the 2012 Olympics gold medal team a...

New top story from Time: Germany Has Officially Recognized Colonial-Era Atrocities in Namibia. But For Some, Reconciliation Is a Long Way Off

https://ift.tt/3fVRkaO The German government formally recognized colonial-era atrocities against the Herero and Nama people in modern-day Namibia for the first time, referring to the early 20th century massacres as “genocide” on Friday and pledging to pay a “ gesture to recognize the immense suffering inflicted.” “In light of the historical and moral responsibility of Germany, we will ask Namibia and the descendants of the victims for forgiveness,” said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in a statement , adding that the German government will fund projects related to “reconstruction and the development” of Namibia amounting to €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion). The sum will be paid out over 30 years and must primarily benefit the descendants of the Herero and Nama, Agence France-Presse reported . [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Although it’s a significant step for a once colonial power to agree such a deal with a former colony, there’s skepticism among some experts and ob...

New top story from Time: Suicide Bombing Wounds 20 People During Palm Sunday Mass in Indonesia

https://ift.tt/3flpt5b MAKASSAR, Indonesia — Two attackers blew themselves up outside a packed Roman Catholic cathedral during a Palm Sunday Mass on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, wounding at least 20 people, police said. A video obtained by The Associated Press showed body parts scattered near a burning motorbike at the gates of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province. Rev. Wilhelmus Tulak, a priest at the church, said he had just finished celebrating Palm Sunday Mass when a loud bang shocked his congregation. He said the blast went off at about 10:30 a.m. as a first batch of churchgoers was walking out of the church and another group was coming in. He said security guards at the church were suspicious of two men on a motorcycle who wanted to enter the building and when they went to confront them, one of the men detonated his explosives. Police later said both attackers were killed instantly and evidence collected at the sc...

New top story from Time: The World’s First Malaria Vaccine—and What it Means for the Future of Pandemic Response

https://ift.tt/3uQFdD3 On Oct. 6, the World Health Organization recommended use of the first vaccine to fight malaria . The decision is momentous and highly anticipated for many reasons: among them is that this is the first vaccine to help reduce the risk of deadly severe malaria in young children in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease remains a leading killer. The vaccine offers hope that there can be a circle of learning from one pandemic to the next. Malaria, our oldest pandemic, may offer insights on how we can survive contemporary scourges like COVID-19. Malaria evolved at least 2.5 million years ago and first infected humans in rural parts of Africa. It then spread to all continents save Antarctica—notably, killing off armies ranging from those trying to conquer ancient Rome to those battling to control the Pacific in World War II. Malaria, according to historians, may have killed more people than any other pandemic. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Malaria changed ...

New top story from Time: This Is the White House’s Plan to Take on Facebook

https://ift.tt/3oEQl4Y Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen’s testimony this week on Capitol Hill turned the Klieg lights on the social media platform’s algorithm that, by design, amplifies dangerous disinformation and lures people to spend more and more time scrolling. The question now is what the Biden Administration will do about it. White House officials know that the momentum generated by Haugen’s testimony will fade over time and the window of popular support for major structural changes to the technology landscape will close. “The White House, like everyone else in Washington, recognizes that the tide is high and the time for action is now,” Tim Wu, special assistant to the president for technology and competition policy, said in a statement to TIME. White House officials are “distressed” by Haugen’s revelations that social media companies’ products are targeting children, Wu said, and “the era of ‘let’s just trust the platforms to solve it themselves’ needs to be ...

New top story from Time: Google’s Employee Vaccine Mandate Could Influence Other Companies to Do the Same

https://ift.tt/3BQnXRv (SAN RAMON, Calif.) — Google is postponing a return to the office for most workers until mid-October and rolling out a policy that will eventually require everyone to be vaccinated once its sprawling campuses are fully reopened in an attempt to fight the spreading Delta variant. In a Wednesday email sent to Google’s more than 130,000 employees, CEO Sundar Pichai said the company is now aiming to have most of its workforce back to its offices beginning Oct. 18 instead of its previous target date of Sept. 1. The decision also affects tens of thousands of contractors who Google intends to continue to pay while access to its campuses remains limited. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “This extension will allow us time to ramp back into work while providing flexibility for those who need it,” Pichai wrote. And Pichai disclosed that once offices are fully reopened, everyone working there will have be vaccinated. The requirement will be first imposed at Goog...

New top story from Time: Labor Department Officials Frustrated at White House Over COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Mandate

https://ift.tt/39WJJGJ When President Joe Biden directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Sept. 9 to impose strict COVID-19 vaccination and testing protocols on large businesses , the OSHA employees were ready. It marked the first time in nearly five years that the small agency had the opportunity to fulfill its mission to protect workers across industries from “recognized serious hazards.” But it also highlighted tensions between OSHA and the White House, exposing simmering resentments over how the White House has approached working with the Department of Labor during the pandemic, according to three former top OSHA officials. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “It’s been a very frustrating nine months for OSHA,” says Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA Jordan Barab, referencing a series of instructions from the Biden Administration, including the most recent plan for a vaccine and testing mandate. “This whole thing was basically th...

My precise view

Search This Blog