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Paula Hobley, a Victorian woman who relies on the assistance of a Guide Dog, is taking the ride-sharing company Uber to the Federal Court after being refused a ride on 32 different occasions.

Hobley, who lives in regional Victoria, is blind and uses rideshare services for everyday situations, including attending medical appointments, shopping and meeting friends.

She claims that between March 2021 and November 2022, Uber drivers refused to pick her up 32 times after she let the driver know she was travelling with her Guide Dog, Vonda.

“When Uber drivers cancelled on me, I faced long delays trying to secure another ride, was completely stranded, and missed things like medical appointments and social events,” Hobley said.

“I’m furious that Uber appears to take a ‘softly softly’ approach with drivers”.

She reported each incident to Uber, but says the refusals continued.

“After 32 stressful and anxiety-provoking cancellations by Uber, I now carefully weigh the risk of cancellation and the personal cost of that against the benefit of doing an activity”, Hobley explains, noting how this has affected her social life, such as nights out where she can’t guarantee her safety.

“The refusals are too draining.”

Hobley filed a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission, claiming discrimination by Uber and its drivers. The Commission’s conciliation process couldn’t resolve the issue, so Paula, represented by the Justice and Equity Centre, filed a case in the Federal Court.

“The law in Australia is clear: a business providing a service cannot discriminate against a person with a disability”, says Lawyer and CEO of the Justice and Equity Centre, Jonathon Hunyor. “This sort of repeated conduct by Uber’s drivers shows it’s a problem the company needs to fix.”

According to the Disability Discrimination Act (1992), businesses cannot refuse services based on a person’s disability, including if the person has assistance animals. However, each state and territory have their own regulations that operate alongside the act, with different consequences for non-compliance. In Victoria and New South Wales, the government can fine ride-share drivers for refusing a person with an assistance animal, but it requires the complainant to make a formal request to a regulator each time. But these fines also vary between states and territories. Last year, NSW raised its fines from as little as $300 to as much as $3,000. In Hobley’s home state of Victoria, it can be as low as $480.

“Uber needs to ensure that people with disability can use its service like everyone else and not be refused a ride because of their disability,” says Hunyor.

The Justice and Equity Centre reinforced to LSJ the need for a more proactive system that prevents discrimination so the onus doesn’t fall on the complainant. According to the centre, rideshare companies, the government, and regulators need to talk directly to people with a disability to find a solution that affects every Australian who relies on assistance animals.

“I’m not asking for special treatment,” concluded Hobley. “I just want drivers to do their job and Uber to enforce that. (…) This is a right, not a privilege. Uber needs to ensure its service doesn’t discriminate against people with disability, including people like me who rely on assistance dogs for our independence.”