A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FILED in federal court in San Francisco this week alleges that a popular airport shuttle service used at Bay Area airports will not accommodate passengers who use wheelchairs.
Three Bay Area plaintiffs, all with mobility disabilities, allege that the airport transportation service called SuperShuttle Express/Execucar does not provide accessible transportation for passengers in wheelchairs to airports in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, even though its website says that it provides such services.
They assert claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act on behalf of national and California classes against WHC Worldwide LLC and WHC zShuttle LLC of Scottsdale, Arizona, the companies that operate SuperShuttle.
The plaintiffs — Jacqueline Garrett and Kathi Pugh of Berkeley, and Dorene Giacopini of Richmond — are all lawyers and all have been advocates for individuals with disabilities. They each allege that that they travel frequently for business or pleasure and use wheelchairs for mobility. They each say that they have unsuccessfully attempted to use the SuperShuttle airport service, forcing them to use expensive workarounds or to cancel their trips.
The complaint alleges that before the COVID-19 pandemic, SuperShuttle — known for its bright blue vans — offered wheelchair-accessible airport shuttles, but those services have been eliminated. According to the court filing, “SuperShuttle owns or previously owned a wheelchair accessible vehicle that fell into disrepair and has not been repaired.”
The plaintiffs contend that SuperShuttle’s promotional materials say that they have arrangements with independent third-party operators to provide service to individuals with mobility disabilities, but the plaintiffs have “repeatedly been told by SuperShuttle representatives that no such options are available.”
SuperShuttle’s website on Tuesday stated “SuperShuttle is committed to providing exceptional service and welcomes all passengers with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs.”
A pop-up window provided the name and phone number of a customer care representative to call for assistance. Calls to that number were answered by a car dealership that said it had no connection to SuperShuttle.
A request for comment on the lawsuit from WHC Worldwide LLC was not immediately answered.
The plaintiffs say that their litigation is ‘intended to halt SuperShuttle’s ongoing discrimination against individuals with mobility disabilities.’
The ADA generally provides that businesses may not discriminate against individuals with disabilities when providing goods or services to the public, and they must make reasonable modifications to their policies to give disabled customers access to their goods or services on a basis equal to customers without disabilities.
SuperShuttle provides transport to San Francisco International Airport, Oakland International Airport, and San Jose Mineta International Airport, as well as major airports in Southern California, Hawaii, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Seattle.
WHC zShuttle, alleged to operate SuperShuttle, is one of the nation’s largest providers of airport transportation services, arranging transportation to and from 70 airports throughout the United States. (SuperShuttle was allegedly acquired by WHC zShuttle in 2020.)
SuperShuttle’s website advertises three different types of ride services: Shared rides (for independent “budget-conscious travelers”), Express rides (large groups and “people who are excited to get where they are going”) and Black Car rides (popular with business travelers and for special events.)
The voices behind the lawsuit
The plaintiffs are represented in the class action case by Disability Rights Advocates, a Berkeley-based nonprofit advocacy organization that has litigated many far-reaching cases on behalf of disabled clients. The group’s website says, “DRA takes cases involving wide-spread systemic civil rights violations that affect a large group of people with disabilities.”
Pugh, one of the three named plaintiffs, is on the advisory board of the organization, according to its website. She was previously a lawyer at San Francisco’s Morrison Foerster firm, where for 20 years she ran the firm’s pro bono program.
The other plaintiffs are also involved in disability rights work.
Garrett is the deputy director for the Pacific ADA Center and Giacopini is a commissioner on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the transportation planning agency for the nine-county Bay Area, as a representative of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Giacopini’s undergraduate degree is from Harvard University and her law degree is from University of California Berkeley School of Law. She was a founding member of the DRA.
The plaintiffs say that their litigation is “intended to halt SuperShuttle’s ongoing discrimination against individuals with mobility disabilities.”
The plaintiffs ask the court to order the defendants to comply with the ADA by making its services available to disabled customers. The plaintiffs seek monetary damages, but only for the named plaintiffs.
Meredith Weaver, an attorney with DRA and the lead lawyer on the case, said that SuperShuttle’s failure to provide wheelchair-accessible transportation has had a significant real-world impact on each of the plaintiffs.
For example, one of the plaintiffs who travels out of Oakland seven or eight times a year has had to hire a paid attendant who drives to her house then drives her wheelchair-accessible van to the airport, then drives it back and parks it at her house. The trip takes hours and costs the plaintiff far more than the shuttle service.
Weaver said she was not aware of similar ADA lawsuits involving airport shuttle services.
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