Leading Airport Transportation Shuttle Provider Sued for Excluding Wheelchair Users
May 5, 2025—Oakland, CA—A group of wheelchair users represented by nonprofit law firm Disability Rights Advocates has filed a class action lawsuit against nationwide airport transportation provider SuperShuttle Express for failing to provide services to wheelchair users. Read the complaint.
SuperShuttle advertises itself as “the leader in airport transportation serving over 70 airport locations worldwide.” While SuperShuttle purports to provide reservations with local operators “who offer accessible vehicles to customers with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs,” in reality, the plaintiffs have repeatedly been told by SuperShuttle’s representatives that, in fact, the company offers no options for individuals who require a wheelchair accessible vehicle.
Plaintiff Jan Garrett said, “As a person with a lifelong disability who uses a power chair for mobility, I used SuperShuttle’s accessible van service several times a year up until 2020. It was always reliable, both in my home neighborhood of the San Francisco Bay Area, and in other cities to which I traveled for work and pleasure. Now, I must rely on hugely expensive medical transportation or arrange rides with others, which steals my independence. I am incensed that accessible ground transportation options have gotten worse – not better – over the years.”
Plaintiff Kathi Pugh said, “Ever since breaking my neck when I was 20, I need to use an electric wheelchair. As an attorney with one of the largest law firms in the country, I used to travel all over the country nearly every other month for work. I relied on SuperShuttle to get me to and from the airport. Now that SuperShuttle no longer has any wheelchair accessible vans, my traveling days are over. It is outrageous that we are going backwards 35 years after the ADA was passed.”
“What is really shocking is that SuperShuttle holds itself out as having accessible transportation services but completely excludes wheelchair users,” Senior Staff Attorney Meredith Weaver noted. “We simply ask that the company provide the access that it admits is required by federal law and advertises as available.”
About Disability Rights Advocates
Founded in 1993, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) is a leading national nonprofit disability rights legal center. Its mission is to advance equal rights and opportunity for people with all types of disabilities nationwide. DRA represents people with the full spectrum of disabilities in complex, system-change, class action cases. DRA is proud to have upheld the promise of the ADA since our inception. Thanks to DRA’s precedent-setting work, people with disabilities across the country have dramatically improved access to health care, employment, transportation, education, disaster preparedness planning, voting and housing. For more information, visit www.dralegal.org.