We’re talking taxi and ride sharing services this week on A Cuppa at the Mosens, Mushroom FM’s live global call-in show where you can sound off on the issues that matter to the blind community.
You’re looking forward to a relaxing night out, or you’re on a tight deadline to make an important appointment. But your luck ran out, and you and your guide dog have been refused. Those of us who don’t use guide dogs aren’t off the hook either. Perhaps you find yourself in a car with a driver you can’t communicate with, who can’t read a map, and who behaves in a variety of inappropriate ways including asking intrusive questions about your blindness, or offering to cure you with the help of whatever god they believe in. Perhaps you’re entertained by the driver’s stories of other blind people they’ve driven, yet concerned about your own privacy when your travel details are leaked to other members of the blind community.
Not only can all this be frustrating, it can also be upsetting, disempowering, and, at times, frightening.
How often do you have an issue with taxi and ride sharing services where you live. Despite some complaints, are ride sharing services generally better than traditional taxis? If you have had cause to file a complaint, we’d like to hear how well those complaints are handled from country to country, state to state. Has your complaint been treated seriously, dealt with promptly, and action taken that you considered satisfactory?
When we’ve been investigating covering this issue, difficulty communicating with drivers has been a subject that has come up repeatedly. Assuming you live in an English-speaking country, should there be an English language requirement that a driver must meet before they’re allowed to drive, or is that unduly restrictive, and racist?
If you have a smartphone or note taker with GPS technology, how much difference has that made in terms of you feeling you have greater control over your taxi and ride sharing experience?
There’s so much to talk about, and as always, we welcome a diversity of perspectives and experiences.
If you use either the Firefox or Chrome web browsers, you can call in via your computer for free, in high-quality audio. Otherwise, there are phone numbers around the world.
To dial in from the US, call 860-51Mosen. That’s 860-516-6736. For other phone numbers, check out the web page for the show at http://www.MushroomFm.com/Cuppa.
A Cuppa at the Mosens can be heard live on Thursdays at 9 PM Eastern time. To find out when that is if you’re outside the US, check the Mushroom FM schedule.
And don’t just tune in, call in, since the show relies on the views and experiences of people just like you. A Cuppa at the Mosens, hosted by Bonnie and Jonathan Mosen, is only on Mushroom FM.