Honestly I can find no real taxis on the streets nowadays. Or maybe they exist in downtown, but what I use for emergency transportation (if I get up late and end up not catching the bus) is Uber or Lyft. Those 2017’s taxis are not cheap either, but those random cars with a big round logo on the front window really saved me many times from being late to various events.
I can recall once I & one of my friends called Lyft and a deaf woman picked us up. The atmosphere was a bit strange since we couldn’t talk to the driver, we didn’t even feel like engage in a conversation ourselves. That short ride was about 10 minutes, but it was strange. Especially when I thought about how someone not able to speak is working hard in third industry, I had the wish to express my admiration, but I did not know how to converse with her.
Interestingly, I received an email from Uber a few days ago:
Source: my mailbox
And what I have seen after clicking the “Learn more” link:
Source: link
Yes, sign language is the key for better communication with those special drivers. Uber does have a point, and its employees’ effort does not stop at telling me sign language is important. They did more: (after clicking the “sign my name” link)
Source: link
Take a quick tour of these images and gifs. Not only does this website demonstrate how to do the most useful sign languages (especially when taking a Uber / Lyft), it can also generate a sequence of signs based on the inputted name. This will be very helpful for deaf / hearing impaired Uber / Lyft drivers if many email receivers click the link and remember those sign languages.
Also, there’s something more interesting within this campaign. You might have noticed that Uber demonstrated those motions with people from racial minority groups; this act is also a goodwill toward the minority of disabled people. My interpretation is, aside from the kindness from the campaign organizers, this is also somewhat related to Uber’s dropping popularity. With former CEO Travis Kalanick’s determination and ambition, Uber has risen from a small start-up to a still-expanding global company, but at the same time being harshly criticized by riders and employees for bad services, high prices, gender discriminations, and more. Kalanick’s crisis and the following resign at the first half of the year marked how severe the situation Uber is in, and now the board is trying to improve the public’s impression on this unstable enterprise.
It is encouraging to see how Uber (is at least trying to) turns to the right direction, but people don’t forget easily, and doing good doesn’t mean past sins are erased. This simple realization also applies to our lives if not only applies to all companies.
And now, let’s see what happens.
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Tha Bloggy Elise 