Friday, September 29, 2017

Uber offers ASL app to help hearing riders

Uber is offering a new way to connect deaf and hard of hearing drivers to hearing passengers. The company launched ubersignlanguage.com this week to show users a few simple ASL signs when they are matched with deaf drivers. Just little things like hello, thank you, turn left, and turn right. At the same time, Lyft has updated its dashboard display to enhance assessability. Uber explains how the new tool works:
Riders will see a special card in the Uber feed. Once they tap it, they’ll be taken to a page where they can select the basics, like “Hello” and “Thank You,” or spell out their name. They’ll then be given a GIF with the word(s) in ASL. That way, they can better communicate with their Deaf or Hard of Hearing driver, because signing “Thank You” or “Hello” in ASL can go a long way.
Read more about the Uber effort here.