“WHY ARE YOU ACCEPTING THE RIDE THEN?”
A woman is furious with Uber after she says a driver refused to let her golden retriever in the car when she ordered an Uber Pet.
In a TikTok with over 595,700 views as of this writing, Audrey Trullinger (@audreytrullinger) crashes out at Uber and emphasizes that drivers need to follow through on what they signed up for.
“Hi Uber, I have a bone to pick with you,” Trullinger begins.
Trullinger says she is bothered by the fact that half of her Uber Pet rides get canceled due to having a golden retriever.
“So, half of the time when I call an Uber Pet, yeah, emphasis on Uber Pet, the driver will be like, ‘Oh, no, no, no. I don’t—I don’t want that dog in my car. I didn’t know you had a dog,’” Trullinger shares.
Trullinger steps back and looks around before unloading a fury of rage toward Uber.
“I called an Uber Pet. Uber Pet,” Trullinger yells.
Clearly furious toward Uber, she urges that drivers should consider that all sizes of dogs will enter their vehicles.
“Maybe when you signed up for Uber to be a driver and you checked off the thing that said, ‘I’ll drive Uber Pet,’ you should consider that maybe not every single pet that’s gonna get in your car isn’t gonna be a little lapdog, OK?” Trullinger vents.
Trullinger defends her golden retriever and believes it’s better behaved than most dogs.
The woman wraps up the rant with a final message for Uber.
“Make sure that your drivers know that they are signed up for Uber Pet,” she concludes.
This epic crashout got the attention of Uber.
Uber commented on the post, “Sorry to hear this, Audrey! Drivers must opt in to receive Uber Pet requests and they are notified when they accept the trip. If a driver ever turns you and Winnie away or cancels the ride upon arrival, please report it through the app so we can investigate right away.”
“WELL IT SEEMS LIKE THE OPT IN AND NOTIFICATIONS ARENT WORKINGGGGGG,” Audrey replied.
Uber Pet is a feature that allows Uber passengers to bring and travel with a dog or cat. This option works the same as a normal Uber does and allows for one furry pet to join along for the ride. There will be additional fees for bringing a pet on board, and availability may vary depending on location.
Uber specifies that pets aren’t allowed in all Uber rides, and the best way to ensure a ride is to use Uber Pet specifically. The ride can entail up to three passengers and one pet.
Uber suggests bringing a towel for the pet in order to protect the vehicle’s seat to avoid a cleaning fee. If the pet leaves any traces of excessive hair, waste, or any damage to the vehicle, a cleaning fee can be charged. Also, pets should be on a leash, harness, or inside a carrier to ensure the pet is secured on the drive. It’s recommended to ask the driver if they have a preferred spot they want the pet to be during the ride, and the pet always needs to be attended to.
While Uber’s website has photos and graphics of golden retrievers, Trullinger says she has had difficulty actually finding Uber drivers who want to complete the Pet ride. This doesn’t seem to make sense, as dogs are part of the Uber Pet policy.
According to Gridwise, Uber Pet requests will only come into a driver’s queue if they have opted into the program. The Uber driver can decline any Uber Pet requests by taking a penalty or impacting their acceptance rate.
However, Uber drivers are required to accept any service animal requests under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If a driver declines a ride for a customer with a service animal, they can lose their ability to drive for Uber, as it is a violation of the ADA and Uber policies.
The gray area includes emotional support animals (ESA), as these are not covered by the ADA. Technically speaking, a driver can decline a rider with an ESA, as they are not legally trained to perform the same tasks as a service animal.
However, some states and local laws have extra protection for ESAs, and it is recommended to still complete the ride. Dealing with a discrimination complaint is never ideal and can risk the ability to drive for Uber.
Viewers in the comments section confirmed that they’ve also had rides canceled for having a pet after ordering an Uber Pet.
“This happens EVERY. TIME. LIKE WHY ARE YOU ACCEPTING THE RIDE THEN?” one TikTok commenter wrote.
“Omg I have left feedback on this so many times,” another added.
“Same issue. I’ve even had to wait for 15 minutes just to watch them pull up, see my cat carrier and cancel and drive off,” one shared.
“I ordered an uber pet for my cat one time and the driver said no because he’s ‘allergic’ to cats… baby why are we doing Uber Pet?” one wrote.
An Uber driver chimed in and shared that drivers get notified pre-ride that a pet will be present.
“As an uber driver, it literally tells us it’s a pet ride BEFORE we accept it. Period. End of story,” one commented.
Motor1 has contacted Audrey Trullinger via email and TikTok direct message, and Uber via email. This post will be updated if either party replies.
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