Annalisa Dileonardo navigates the world a little differently than most others. The San Jose special education teacher is led by the eyes of Cousteau, a trained guide dog.
Dileonardo says the 4-year-old Labrador retriever gets them from one place to another safely.
“I am considered legally blind. He is literally my eyes. Without him, several times I would have been a pancake,” Dileonardo said.
Because of that condition, Dileonardo can’t see overhead obstacles or curbs on the ground.
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To get to and from work, the teacher takes a rideshare everyday with Cousteau – that is, if they can find a driver who will accept him.
Dileonardo says they are constantly denied by rideshare app drivers. It happens so often, Dileonardo now records the interactions with a cell phone.
Refusing to accommodate service dogs is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act which prohibits discrimination based on disability.
According to the community guidelines, both Lyft and Uber say allergies, religious objections, and a fear of dogs are not valid reasons for their drivers to refuse a rider with a service animal.
“It makes me feel like I’m less than, and not wanted in society,” Dileonardo said.
And the teacher is not alone. Linda MacLeod, from Willow Glen, has been denied too.
“I was reaching for the handle for the door, he got out and said, ‘Oh no, no, no, no pets, no dogs.’ He mentioned Uber has this program called Uber Pet,” MacLeod said.
Uber introduced Uber Pet in 2021. It allows riders to bring along furry friends for an extra $5. But MacLeod says the program has made the problem worse for blind people, because service animals aren’t pets.
“Drivers think it's an option,” she said.
MacLeod added that it’s illegal to make blind people pay more money to ride with their service animal.
“That means it's not being provided to me at the same level as the service for other people who don’t have a disability,” she said.
NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit reached out to Uber and Lyft with these concerns.
Uber said in part, “Discrimination on our platform is unacceptable, and our Community Guidelines expressly prohibit this behavior. As part of signing up to drive on the Uber platform, drivers agree to comply with our U.S. Service Animal Policy and with applicable federal and state accessibility laws.”
Uber added, “it takes appropriate action which can include permanent deactivation of a drivers account.”
Lyft told the Investigative Unit it “requires all drivers to accommodate passengers traveling with service animals” and it “asks riders to report issues immediately.”
Seven years ago, both Lyft and Uber settled lawsuits brought by the National Federation of the Blind.
As a result, Uber says it reminds drivers of the contractual and legal obligations to transport riders with service animals.
But Dileonardo says it's still not enough.
“I don’t think they are making it a big enough issue. They’re trying to be nice to their drivers and give them a second chance.”
Despite the frustration, Dileonardo is always a teacher first. If not to Uber and Lyft, to drivers who might come across this news report.
“I would love people to recognize that I’m me and I’m the same as you,” Dileonardo said. “I deserve the same rights and I just want to get to work.”
