public transportation

20 Oct

Protesters Say Uber and Lyft Are Still Failing Their Blind Passengers

stp2y0 CommentsRAG modelsAccessibility, cities, Lyft, on-demand economy, public transportation, uber

Michelle Barlak, public relations manager for The Seeing Eye, which provides guide dogs for people with visual impairments, tells WIRED that the organization has received “frequent and increasing reports of rideshare access denials from Seeing Eye dog handlers.” A survey by the nonprofit Guide Dogs for the Blind found 83 percent of members said they had been denied rides.Both Uber and Lyft offer in-app options for people to specify that they’re traveling with a pet, which usually involves paying slightly more. But since guide dogs aren’t pets, people with visual impairments cannot be required to use this option.A Lyft spokesperson…

24 Aug

Will the ‘Car-Free’ Los Angeles Olympics Work?

stp2y0 CommentsRAG modelslos angeles, olympics, public transportation, science, transportation, travel

What’s undisputed is that, starting in the mid-1940s, powerful social forces transformed Los Angeles so that commuters had only two choices: drive or take a public bus. As a result, LA became so choked with traffic that it often took hours to cross the city.In 1990, the Los Angeles Times reported that people were putting refrigerators, desks, and televisions in their cars to cope with getting stuck in horrendous traffic. A swath of movies, from Falling Down to Clueless to La La Land, have featured the next-level challenge of driving in LA.Traffic was also a concern when LA hosted the…