Uber enlists MV Transportation drivers to pick up disabled passengers

Uber is adding drivers from a specialist company to its app in a bid to provide more wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAV) to disabled passengers in the US. MV Transportation specialises in providing on-demand transportation to people with disabilities and older passengers. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says there are not enough drivers on its platform who use WAVs. He believes the collaboration will allow riders in wheelchairs to be picked up within 15 minutes on average for trips in New York City, Bosto
November 23, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

8336 Uber is adding drivers from a specialist company to its app in a bid to provide more wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAV) to disabled passengers in the US.

MV Transportation specialises in providing on-demand transportation to people with disabilities and older passengers.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says there are not enough drivers on its platform who use WAVs.

He believes the collaboration will allow riders in wheelchairs to be picked up within 15 minutes on average for trips in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, DC as well as Toronto in Canada.

“We’re aiming to see similar wait times for trips in San Francisco and Los Angeles over the next year, and together those eight cities account for half of Uber trips in North America,” Khosrowshahi adds.

MV CEO Kevin Jones says: “As the nature of transportation changes, we will work with Uber to ensure people with disabilities aren’t left behind.”

MV owns the WAVs, and its drivers are trained to secure wheelchairs inside the vehicles.

Uber intends to price WAV journeys the same as an UberX trip, which the company insists is its cheapest ride-share option outside of Uber Pool. The cost is determined by location, sometimes with surge pricing applied during peak times such as holidays or when there is bad weather.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Perfect Data launches ride-hailing app in UK
    August 20, 2019
    Perfect Data has launched a ride-hailing app across the UK which it says will provide local authorities with a map of all vehicles operating in their areas. Darren Tenney, founder of Perfect Data, says Xooox [pronounced ‘Zooks’] will allow regulators to see what’s happening at street level. “At last they will have the power to take action against unlicensed, banned or out of jurisdiction drivers,” he continues. “This will not only help keep passengers safe, it will help protect the income of the hundred
    Read More
  • ADN’s Bled SaaS option eases driver stress
    July 23, 2019
    ADN Mobile Solutions has developed a technology-plus-training tool for bus operators which it says will reduce driver stress, cut emissions and improve the bottom line Public transit is at the heart of future urban mobility. The focus here is, quite rightly, on improving the experience for riders – but there is someone else in the chain who might be overlooked, despite being vital to the success of any operation: the driver. Bus drivers, for example, have a difficult job, combating congestion and the
    Read More
  • Arup’s vision of urban mobility in 2050
    May 6, 2015
    Arup’s vision of the Future of Highways considers a wide range of factors that will impact on mobility towards the middle of the century. In its consideration of the Future of Highways through to 2050, international consultants Arup has taken a broad and pragmatic view of where society is heading and the effects that will have on the transport requirements. In terms of major drivers it not only cites
    Read More
  • Venkat Sumantran: ‘Smart cities are more hype than reality’
    November 23, 2018
    For all the talk of smart cities, investment in systems lags significantly behind organic expansion in most places. Andrew Stone talks to Venkat Sumantran, who has been looking at how to create a coherent framework which could help authorities answer multiple mobility questions Two megatrends are posing unprecedented challenges to those trying to keep people moving around the world’s urban areas now - and in the years and decades to come. The first is rapid urbanisation. One in six of us lived in urban a
    Read More

Highlighted Content