DOJ Sues Lyft for $53M, Says Drivers Routinely Turn Away Disabled Riders

The Justice Department filed suit against Lyft, alleging that the company and its drivers repeatedly deny service to passengers with disabilities. The complaint homes in on riders who use stowable wheelchairs and those traveling with service animals trained to help with their conditions. According to the DOJ, that conduct breaks Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which bars transportation companies from discriminating on the basis of disability.

Beyond turning riders away, the agency says Lyft slaps cancellation fees on passengers who were refused service in the first place. It also accuses the company of declining to adjust its policies to prevent discrimination — including denying riders with mobility issues the option to sit up front when they need to.

This is a rerun. Lyft settled with the DOJ out of court in 2020 over the same ADA allegations, after a Los Angeles wheelchair user filed repeated complaints about being denied rides. That deal had Lyft paying damages and rewriting its wheelchair policies. The department's new filing makes clear it doesn't think those changes went far enough.

The lawsuit asks for $53 million in damages for passengers with disabilities who have complained to Lyft or to the department. It also wants a court order forcing Lyft to train its drivers on the ADA.

Lyft pushed back in a statement to the New York Times, denying the allegations. The company said discrimination has no place in its community and pointed to longstanding policies requiring drivers to accommodate riders with service animals or foldable mobility devices. Drivers who break those rules, Lyft said, face serious consequences up to permanent deactivation.

The DOJ sued Uber on similar grounds last year, again accusing the company and its drivers of routinely refusing to serve people with disabilities. Both cases landed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.