Uber Canada and the Canadian Hearing Society (CHS) announced a partnership Friday that promotes employment access for the deaf and hard of hearing.
This partnership was announced during the Canadian Hearing Society’s International Week of the Deaf event “Creating an Accessible World.” The partnership will bring about several initiatives including promoting driver-partner opportunities at Uber for those who are hard of hearing and developing new features that improve communication between driver and client.
Furthermore, CHS and Uber will be introducing a “First ride for free” program, which gives deaf and hard of hearing customers a discount on their first ride as well as launching a promotion between September 26th and 29th that will donate $1 from every uberWAV and uberASSIST ride taken in Canada to CHS.
“At Uber, we work to promote social inclusion and to make economic opportunities available in the community, and we know that many people who are Deaf or hard of hearing struggle to find employment. That’s why we’re so excited to announce this exciting partnership with the Canadian Hearing Society with the goal of opening up even more work opportunities for the Deaf and hard of hearing community in Canada,” said Sheldon McCormick the general manager of Uber Ontario.
Uber first launched features for deaf and hard of hearing driver partners last year which included flashing trip requests and text-only communication with riders. However, the program has only attracted hundreds of deaf and/or hard of hearing driver partners.
“Creating an accessible World” was an event designed to celebrate employers who are leaders in developing accessible environments for hard of hearing/deaf employees.
“I applaud Uber for being an innovative employer, and I am so excited about our partnership,” said Julia Dumanian, President and CEO, CHS. “Today, we are celebrating this announcement and how it will help increase accessibility and communication between Deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing people.”
Related: Uber to expand mapping technology in Toronto and to other Ontario cities
[source]Uber Canada[/source]
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