FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2024

CONTACT
Mayor’s Press Office
312.744.3334
press@cityofchicago.org

MAYOR’S OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, BUSINESS AFFAIRS AND CONSUMER PROTECTION TO HOST DRIVER EDUCATION EVENT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UBER AND LYFT
In an effort to make ride-hail and transportation networks more accessible, MOPD and BACP are hosting an event to ensure that drivers are educated on the use of service animals by passengers with disabilities

CHICAGO – As we celebrate the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Mayor Brandon Johnson, the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD), and Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) are partnering with Uber and Lyft for an event today to educate drivers on service animals in an effort to ensure that passengers with service animals can utilize Lyft and Uber.
“We want to ensure that all Chicagoans, regardless of whether or not they have a service animal, can easily traverse our city,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “I am proud that our Office for People with Disabilities is leading the way in making Chicago the most inclusive and accessible city in the country for people with disabilities. This event represents our mission to bring workers, businesses, and government together in a shared mission to ensure that all Chicagoans can enjoy our city.”

MOPD invited Uber and Lyft drivers together, along with people with disabilities who use service animals, who will educate and inform drivers on best practices on interacting with service animals, in efforts to improve the experience for people who have service animals. People with disabilities will share their lived experience, network with drivers and demonstrate that service animals can ride safely in a car.

"At the City of Chicago, we are committed to ensuring that people with disabilities do not experience barriers to accessing our City, including when using transportation to live, work and play in our City,” said Rachel Arfa, MOPD Commissioner. “This is a top priority of the Johnson administration and through this collaboration, we will continue to improve the experience for people with service animals, which will benefit residents and visitors of our City, including those who may be visiting to attend a summer festival or the Democratic
National Convention.”

“By welcoming service animals in public vehicles, the City of Chicago is enhancing accessibility and ensuring a positive transportation experience for people with disabilities,” said BACP Acting Commissioner Ivan Capifali. “The requirement by law underscores BACP’s dedication to providing safe, comfortable, and inclusive transportation for all passengers.”

“At Uber, we are driven by our commitment to help make our platform an inclusive place for all users. Today, and every day, our message to the service animal community is clear: we welcome you and we value your experiences as we build on this work together,” said Briana Gilmore, Head of Global Accessibility and Underserved Communities at Uber.

“We recognize that our Lyft drivers are in a unique role to help riders with service animals travel around our communities, and this event is just one of many ways that Lyft takes this seriously and supports both our drivers and our passengers with disabilities,” said Brent Kent, Director of Public Policy at Lyft.

Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities and are permitted in public spaces in accordance with federal, state and local laws including the ADA and the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance. Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties.

Service animals are working animals, not pets, and are permitted on transportation with their owners. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability.

###