Uber Isn't A Public Transportation Service?

First it was NYC with too few accessible taxis, then the mayor claiming that the taxis were a hazard, and now this...

Uber, Lyft, and other similar ride-sharing organizations, are claiming that disability laws do not apply to them.

Uber: Disability Laws Don’t Apply to Us

Say what? What are these guys smoking? Can I have some?

Uber IS a transportation service, not a "technology" company, because it's similar to a car service and taxis. All of them use a vehicle to take a passenger to a requested destination. Denying those with disabilities, or separating them from the non-disabled crowd, is still discrimination. Maybe they'd be a "technology" company if they used a teleporter, but no such luck.

No matter what, Uber's UberWAV and UberASSIST programs should be like how other taxi companies are set up, with the vehicles being used for disabled and not, and treated the same way without being charged too much more.

Want to know something else? Uber's also flooding the job boards with listings that say something like these:

"[job title] - Need to Earn More Money? Join UberX as a Driving Partner Today!"
"Having Trouble Getting A [job name/title/type] Job? Have A Flexible Schedule As An UberX Driving Partner Instead!"
"Entry Level Job Not Paying The Bills? Join UberX & Have a Flexible Schedule Driving Your Own Car."
"Make up to $xxx this Weekend in fares Driving Your Car. Join Uber Now!"

Personally, I'd avoid them til they clean up their act.

Cheers to DC, More Jeers to NYC

Washington DC's gotten some rather nice-looking accessible cabs. Why can't NYC do the same thing?

Hey, Mayor Bloom-boy... Get a load of THIS!

Wheelchair-Accessible Taxis on the Rise in Maryland Suburbs
Wheelchair-accessible taxis available in Prince George’s

Even the DC Metro paratransit has some of these. Can you do this, Mayor Bloomie? Come on, seriously... 13,000+ cabs out there and less than 250 are accessible? DC has a higher ratio than that. I challenge you to say that the MV-1 is hazardous to the non-disabled.

Oh, wait... I guess not...

NYC Taxis Don't Have To Accommodate The Disabled, Rules Appeals Court
Even Though London Will Have Accessible Nissan Cabs, TLC Says ADA Makes It Impossible

Or can it be?

More Handicap-Accessible Cabs Hit The Streets

Bloomberg, my man... Try using a wheelchair, powered or manual, for a week.

Suit to Add Handicapped-Accessible Cabs Unfar?

An even louder Bronx cheer, wetter raspberries and razzing, and an even smellier fart are directed in Bloomberg's general direction. I posted about this earlier in NYC Taxis Inaccessible! Shame on you, Bloomberg!.

Bloomberg says suit to add handicapped-accessible cabs unfair to 'average' riders, wastes gas, money

You have GOT to be kidding me, Mr. Mayor B! Unfair to average riders, wastes gas and money, and...

Disabled-friendly cabs are a health hazard, would cause injuries & spark lawsuits, mayor says

...a hazard? Hazard to WHO? Yourself? You have more to worry about hubcaps coming off other cars and them spraying water on you than a wheelchair user lobbing a golf ball-sized water balloon at you using a rubber band slingshot. YOU yourself can be a rider of the subways, as many officials, even mayors and related public officials, have been known to do.

Have you even ridden in one of those wheelchair-friendly cabs? Have you even spent time in the DC area seeing how the paratransit system and accessible cabs work? Have you even talked to the owners of those cabs to see if they really are hazardous? Have you been in a modified wheelchair-accessible van driven by a wheelchair user? I DON'T THINK SO. YOU can try riding these things not just once, but multiple times. I've been there, done that.

How about making the ENTIRE NYC subway system accessible, adding elevators and escalators? Adding newer accessible vans would be much cheaper than the huge bill of retrofitting the entire NYC subway system. But yep, looks like they're doing some accessibility work here and there, with 89 out of 468 accessible stations.

MTA Guide to Accessible Transit

NYC Taxis Inaccessible! Shame on you, Bloomberg!

A big Bronx cheer, raspberries, razzing, and to quote Monty Python, a fart in Bloomberg's general direction.

City’s Next Taxi: A Nissan Van Short on Looks, Perhaps, but Full of Comforts
The Nissan Taxi Is Rolling In, to a Bronx Cheer (letters to the Editor)
United Spinal Denounces New York City Taxi Pick

NYC's Mayor Bloomberg and administration chose a non-wheelchair accessible taxi Nissan van that was not wheelchair accessible over an accessible Turkish van. Come on, sirs. You're blowing off and ignoring the disabled community in your city! There may be paratransit services, but this doesn't excuse the fact that even those with disabilities need a taxi! I oughta know, using a wheelchair from time to time due to my knee surgeries. I used a taxi van equipped with a wheelchair ramp or lift coming home from the metro/subway one time.

In DC, they just rolled out a program called rollDC.

Wheelchair-accessible cabs increase DC mobility

While most of NYC's subway stops aren't quite wheelchair accessible, some are. Compare that to DC's stations and subway cars, which are all accessible. I'm sure other cities are just as accessible. I've seen Memphis, TN's trolleys and and I think San Jose/San Francisco's subway trains use some sort of elevated platform for wheelchair users.

Again, Mayor Bloomberg, shame on you. You just passed up an opportunity to help improve your city's economy.

My Knee's Progress 4

It's getting easier to walk longer distances. I was able to walk to someone's place near me which is near this grocery store I mentioned before. I wasn't too out of breath or too tired when I got there, which is a good sign of improvement. But even then, I still can't make it to the store and back home. It's pretty much a one-way trip. That's still a pretty big improvement from before when it was harder for me to get there a few months earlier.

It's the other knee that has me at a standstill or slow improvements til the next surgery. I had to change the date due to a conflict with Jamie's class on the same day. I won't be missing Halloween. The new surgery date is November 20 in the early morning. Then the week after that is Thanksgiving. Pretty much means I'll be in the rehab facility. Means I'll be a captive audience for dinner.

To walk a mile, bowl again... It'll happen. I know I can now do a tenth of a mile, which is good.

My Knee's Progress 2 / National Police Week

Back in mid-May, I attended National Police Week's Candlelight Vigil at the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial. I mentioned my first adoptive dad in my Growing Up Deaf - Part 4 post.

My attending this event marked the first time I used the metro/subway without using the wheelchair. It was a longer walk compared to when I walked to someone's house for dinner in the My Knee's Progress - Part 1 post. I walked from the parking garage to the waiting train using the escalator, a bit out of breath and almost no pain. It was a bit shorter walk this time, as I used the elevator which put me right in the middle of the seating area. The seats filled quickly, and I arrived two hours before the event.

It was an emotional event. One of the speakers was Eric Holder, US Attorney General. (Blog post found here) I found that there was an interpreter after the event started, but wasn't able to get to where she was. The crowd numbered around several thousand according to the Washington Post which included those from police agencies around the nation and world. Most impressive were the many candles held by the crowd, with most electric lights off. They had a laser which was aimed from the back from a building to the front podium.

While waiting for my train after the event, I sat for a bit on side of the escalator. Interestingly enough, a group from the UK who attended the event waited near and around me. One of them showed a little toy which got everyone laughing, including me. After a little talk with a couple of them, someone from the group gave me a little pin signifying fallen police officers. Arriving at my stop an hour later, I was a bit tired from the walk.

I still got a ways to go in terms of left knee strength improvement and the right knee being operated on. I'll find out more what will happen next at my August appointment with the doctor.

Laundry after Knee Surgery

In Stairs, Laundry, and A TKR, she mentions how she handled the laundry post-TKR. Since I'm in a split level, the steps down to the lower part of the house don't have railings. I just hold onto the corner as I go down sidestep. Rather than a basket, I have a net bag, and roll it down the steps, making sure no one's in the way.

...that plus make sure the cat's not playing with the drawstring...

I still have some trouble in carrying things up the steps, having to put the item a few steps up, step up a few steps, until I'm at the top. For heavier items going up the steps, I'll put it on a small handcart, strap it down, and haul it up one step at a time.

My Knee's Progress - Part 1

I'll post here and there about how my left knee has been doing post-surgery. Lately, it's been getting easier to walk longer distances and a recent event gave me some encouragement.

Here's what's happened in the last couple weeks;
- I had to meet up with a counselor at my local college. I walked from the parking deck to the building and then to the office. That wasn't painful at all.
- I walked with Jamie from home to a building next door, walking along the entire front sidewalk and back home, resting a couple times. She commented a couple times it looked like I wasn't using the cane. I was, as it was keeping me from limping too much. This was further than the above, and;
- I walked to someone's house for dinner, which was about the above two walks put together, and this was a few hours after physical therapy. I wasn't quite up for going further, as a little more distance away was the local grocery store. MILESTONE!

So far, no pain, just some fatigue when I overuse it, but the right knee will hurt some. I can stand longer as well.

Seeing the Knee Doctor - Part 3

My last two appointments were pretty much the same with a few questions here and there. For the most part, I've improved here and there. My flexion and extension have improved a few degrees. I'm able to walk further with the cane and stand longer.

Last week, I was able to get down the steps to the lower level of the house, a split-level. This set of steps doesn't have any railings, just a couple corners for me to hold onto while I go down there backwards.

My hamstring shortened due the knee not being able to move a lot before surgery, known as a contracture. I'm going to be using a heating pad to help out in getting that and the quadriceps to stretch out a bit more. I most likely have that on the right knee as well.

The doctor and physical therapist have both said I'm progressing well. The doctor agreed with me when I said I'll be going for having the other knee done in early fall.

Researching Your Knee Replacement - Part 3

As mentioned in the previous two posts, doing your research and pre-op activities can help the healing process along. For getting around, you may need some walking aids like cane and walker/rollator. Sometimes a wheelchair helps if you can borrow one. Many good drugstores have canes for up to $30. Membership warehouses such as Sams Club may have collapsible canes.

You may need to go through a home/inpatient program and then outpatient before you do things at home on your own. Will you go right on home after hospital discharge or will you go to a rehab facility? When I had an occupational therapist come to my house, I showed her what I could do as she listed them. The only things I could not do was put the trash out front and get down the last few steps (split level home - ground level to lower - no handrails) for the laundry.

Most important is how to get home and in the house. Driving yourself is out if you use the operated leg for driving. You may not be able to drive for about several weeks.

Researching Your Knee Replacement - Part 1

Not researching your upcoming surgery and asking your doctor questions can backfire in terms of nasty surprises and then some arising from false assumptions. Even I had a few unexpected things pop up. This is not a surgery to take lightly. It's something that *WILL* change your life to a degree and the road to recovery will take a LOT of work.

Robin's Total Knee Replacement site was the first I visited. She underwent two total knee replacements (TKR). It's got links for TKR and hip replacements sites. Her knee's inability to straighten out at first mirrors me at the moment, as seen in her TKR entry updated July 1998. Exercise and walking can help in straightening it out more, including swimming.

Marie wrote Is a Total Knee Replacement Worth It? Her experiences nearly mirror mine. It was worth it despite being in a rehab facility for 3 weeks. I went from bedbound to using a walker.

While beds in hospitals and some at nursing homes and rehab facilities are adjustable in height, your own bed may not be. It may help to keep something nearby to get up onto it if it's higher than normal.

Seeing the Knee Doctor - Part 2

Just saw the knee surgeon again. He said my flexion (knee bending), around 85-90 degrees, is an improvement from the last appointment. However, my extension (knee straight out) is still around 10-15 degrees. I have a computer case under the desk and stretch the leg and knee on it while I'm using the computer, keyboard on lap.

I've completed the homebound phase, the inpatient therapy. I'm now in outpatient therapy. Since the last visit, I've been using the cane more. I'm trying to walk some without it, but it's not an easy thing. For some exercises, I can only do under a therapist's supervision, like bike machines and related.

However, he told me something quite interesting. In some surgeries, a TKR splits the quadriceps muscle to get at the bone, moves it aside, or something like that. In my case, he cut it, making a caret (^) shaped cut above the patella (kneecap). This most likely explains why I had so much trouble trying to do leg lifts and side to side movements for 2-3 weeks.

It's getting easier to do stovetop cooking. I did a recent dinner, and the left knee (with TKR) merely ached from being tired and the right one was hurting some and becoming a bit stiff. A far cry from when the left would hurt quite a bit.