Reuters
By Isobel Asher Hamilton : Business Insider US
- The US DOJ sued Uber over its waiting time fee policy, saying it discriminated against disabled riders.
- Uber reached a settlement with the DOJ agreeing to pay over $2 million (over R34 million) to affected riders.
- It will also credit the accounts of 65,000 people, which could cost it millions more.
Uber has reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice meaning it will pay over $2 million (over R34 million) to disabled riders after it charged them with waiting fees.
Uber’s waiting time fee policy means if you take longer than two minutes to begin your journey after your car arrives, the company charges you per minute the driver has to wait. The rate varies based on location, according to Uber’s help page on the policy.
The DOJ sued Uber over the policy in November 2021 saying it discriminated against disabled people who might need additional time to get into a car.
The DOJ said in a press statement Monday Uber would compensate over 1,000 riders who got in touch to complain about being charged wait fees from a settlement pot of $1.7 million (around R29 million).
A draft complaint notice attached to the settlement agreement said that these 1,000 people who complained would get a minimum of $600 (around R10,014) each from Uber. The pot divided among roughly 1,000 would mean each person could get up to approximately $1,700 (around R28,832).
The DOJ also said $500,000 (around R8.4 million) would be distributed among “other harmed individuals identified by the department.” It did not specify how many people it had identified.
It added that Uber agreed to credit the accounts of over 65,000 rider accounts for “double the amount of wait time fees they were ever charged.”
While the DOJ didn’t put a precise figure on how much money this would cost Uber, it could amount to “potentially hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in compensation.”
“People with disabilities should not be made to feel like second-class citizens or punished because of their disability, which is exactly what Uber’s wait time fee policy did,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in the DOJ’s press statement.
Uber did not immediately reply when contacted by Insider.
