BY: CLAIRE KIM
Honestly, there has been so much discrimination lately. From religious terrorist attacks to sexism at work facilities, it’s ridiculous. Now to add to the fire, we have an issue regarding the discrimination of handicaps and the general audience of people.
It’s a fact that handicaps have it harder to move around and transport themselves to places in cities. Especially in a state like New York, transportation can be a huge struggle for them. Obviously, for us, New York is elite when it comes to transportation. Unlike here, they have taxis, more buses, and even subway stations. However, this isn’t the case for the rest of the population who struggle from being inhibited from moving.
I definitely understand why people may have complaints about the current transportation system. Subways are hard enough to get on and off up and down, buses are usually very crowded, and cars are exempt from this situation because handicaps won’t have the ability to operate it anyway.
The last option is taxis and from what I’ve heard most yellow taxis in New York now offer a friendly service for handicaps. Taxis are great and all, but to be very honest they are quite expensive, so what’s left is Uber. Some people may argue why Uber is the only company being targeted for this issue, but in a way, it does make sense because they basically tricked us. They stated that they had over 200 cars ready and roaming but less than 100 were actually accessible. That’s 50% less.
I know lately Uber has been blown in the dust with their recent conflicts from their superiors, but I think this is a great moment to wake up and take things in their hands again. The decline in Uber’s business has definitely increased, and I think without any real plans, Uber will continue to get smacked and eventually won’t be able to get up anymore.
claire kim. 