Uber to launch new service for disabled people

uberASSIST will enable people who use folding wheelchairs, scooters and walking frames to order suitable vehicles

Andrew Matthews/PA

20 October 2015

Disabled people will soon be able to request extra assistance when booking a car through minicab-booking app Uber.

uberASSIST will theoretically enable people who use folding wheelchairs, scooters and walking frames to order minicabs which can accommodate their needs.

So far about 100 of Uber's most experienced drivers have signed up to the scheme, the US company said today, and it hopes more will offer their services.

All the drivers have completed a disability equality course developed by charities Transport for All and Inclusion London.

The service will cost the same as a journey using the lowest priced uberX.

Uber's UK general manager, Jo Bertram, said: "We've been working to develop uberASSIST for a number of months and have heard from our charitable partners, Transport for All and Inclusion London, about the difficulties disabled people and people with access needs often face in accessing transport in London.

"Technology and innovation should be starting to change this.

"That's why I'm proud that we can now offer disabled riders extra assistance - at exactly the same low price as our existing uberX service."

A High Court judge ruled last week that Uber's smartphone app is lawful after rejected accusations from the black cab drivers that the technology constituted a fare calculation meter reserved for vehicles used by licensed cabbies.

Additional reporting by the Press Association

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