Guwahati, Jun 22 (PTI): Two days after disability rights activist Arman Ali shared his experience of being "treated horribly" by two drivers of an app cab aggregator, the company on Saturday expressed regret over the incident and said action will be taken against the wrongdoers.
Uber India does not condone discrimination of any kind, a spokesperson of the service provider told PTI.
Ali, Executive Director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment of Disabled People, claimed in a Facebook post that due to the ill-treatment of the drivers in Chennai, he had missed a flight and a meeting and had to shell out Rs 14,000 to book a fresh air ticket on Tuesday.
In Thursday's Facebook post that he had tagged the Prime Minister's Office and Narendra Modi, the Assam-based wheelchair-bound man said, "I was treated horribly and #discriminated against by @uber @uber_india in #chennai yesterday evening."
An Uber India spokesperson Saturday said, "We do not condone discrimination of any kind and regret this unfortunate incident. Drivers who use the Uber app agree to accommodate riders with disabilities and must comply with accessibility laws."
"We've reached out to those involved to look into the matter and take necessary action," the spokesperson said in an email.
Ali had alleged that the first driver cancelled the trip around 15 minutes after verbally confirming it, while the second one refused to put his wheelchair in the backseat, "pushed (him) out of the cab" and cancelled the trip.
In a tweet on Friday, the Assam-based activist said while he had lost a lot of time and money, the Uber India apologised to him and offered to refund the cancellation fee of Rs 45 only.
People with disabilities face discrimination in India "everyday" even after the country ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) long back and enacted the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act in 2016, he asserted.
