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Uber helps hearing-impaired drivers to manage booking requests

SINGAPORE — The next time you book an Uber cab, don’t be too surprised if you get a driver who is hearing-impaired.

Mr Roland Goh is a hearing impaired Uber driver. Photo: Wee Teck Hian/TODAY

Mr Roland Goh is a hearing impaired Uber driver. Photo: Wee Teck Hian/TODAY

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SINGAPORE — The next time you book an Uber cab, don’t be too surprised if you get a driver who is hearing-impaired.

The ride-hailing app has about 20 such drivers on its platform, and this community has been steadily growing by word-of-mouth since nine months ago when Uber Singapore started a pilot of a programme called ‘Beethoven’, a new app feature that makes it easier for the hearing-impaired to pick up passengers.

With this app feature, these drivers are alerted to a new trip request through a flashing light, on top of the existing audio notification available to all drivers.

Once the driver confirms the ride, the passenger is notified that their driver is hearing-impaired or hard-of-hearing, and there is an extra prompt to enter their destination ahead of their trip. If the passenger wants to contact the driver while waiting for him or her to arrive, there will be the option to send a text message instead of calling.

Mr Roland Goh, 45, is one such driver. In his car, there is a signage that reads: “I’m hearing-impaired. If (you) need to communicate with me, feel free to use the paper provided.” There is also a small whiteboard to facilitate conversations with passengers.

Mr Goh has completed more than 3,000 Uber rides with the app feature since he started in March, and he has managed to earn S$3,000 to S$4,000 a month. This is significantly better than his previous job as a delivery man, where there was “a lot of bullying”, he said through an interpreter.

His experience inspired him to start a WhatsApp chat and support group with 13 other hearing-impaired Uber drivers. The newest member is Mr Roslan Junid, 51, who has already earned more than S$1,000 since he started last Tuesday.

In terms of these drivers’ ratings, Uber Singapore’s general manager Warren Tseng said that there has been no discernable difference between theirs and regular drivers’. Some of them even received better-than-average ratings, with feedback such as “very friendly” and “fantastic driver”, he added.

It is quite rare to see hearing-impaired taxi drivers in Singapore, because a vocational license is required.

Uber spokesperson Leigh Wong said that the private-hire car company’s hiring of such drivers goes by the Land Transport Authority’s standards, whereby the drivers cannot be 100-per-cent deaf, must be able to hear at least 50 decibels, and have at least two years of driving experience.

Earlier in July, Facebook user Guangtong Li made ripples online when he posted an account of his experience riding with hearing-impaired Uber driver Andrew Tay. He described it as “the most enriching and yet humbling” 25 minutes in his life. He said in his post, which was shared more than 6,000 times: “I asked myself, what if I were deaf? … Would I even have the courage to carry on living, what more be an Uber driver?”

Commenting on the post at an event on Monday (Sept 26) by Uber to celebrate World Deaf Day, Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said: “These are experiences which cannot be engineered, and our response determines whether we can build an inclusive society.”

He added that the accommodations made for these drivers by Uber would “greatly help (them) serve their customers”, “help correct misconceptions”, and even “help improve comfort levels (for the passenger) and avoid misunderstandings”.

“Step by step, Singapore can be a more inclusive society for persons with disabilities,” Dr Faishal said.

Clarification: An earlier version of this report said the hearing-impaired drivers must be able to speak at least 50 syllables. Uber has clarified that Land Transport Authority standards are that the hearing-impaired driver must be able to hear at least 50 decibels.

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