Lyft—Lyft wheelchair accessibility head admitted policy to do 'as little as possible unless forced'
During federal trial in Lowell v. Lyft wheelchair accessibility lawsuit, former head of Lyft's national WAV program Chris Wu testified that Lyft's policy is to do 'as little as possible unless forced' to serve people with disabilities. Lyft only offers WAV service in 4% of total service areas (9 cities). WAV Program Manager testified she had no professional experience in transportation management, Americans with Disabilities Act, or developing programs for people with disabilities prior to joining Lyft. Budget for WAV services decreasing from 2023 to 2024. Lyft consistently argues it's merely a 'technology company' not subject to ADA, claims it's 'not in the transportation business.' Judge dismissed case September 30, 2024, finding plaintiffs didn't prove proposed accommodations would be effective.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accessibility | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Corporate Governance | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Deceptive Lobbying | +toward | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.763 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.57)
Evidence (1 signal)
Former WAV program head testified Lyft policy is 'as little as possible unless forced'
During federal trial in Lowell v. Lyft wheelchair accessibility lawsuit on July 8, 2024, former head of Lyft's national WAV program Chris Wu testified that company policy is to do 'as little as possible unless forced' to serve people with disabilities. Court filings show Lyft offers WAV service in only 4% of service areas and budget for services decreasing from 2023 to 2024.