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Ridesharing services have become a popular mode of transportation that holds significant benefits for people with disabilities unable to operate conventional motor vehicles. Prior work shows how these services enable people with vision impairments to travel independently without the use of public transportation or walking. We conducted a study in which we observed 17 blind or visually impaired participants using the Uber ridesharing service to explore the social and accessibility dynamics they perceived during their experiences. This paper presents a case study of the process used for our research, reflecting on aspects that considerably impacted the study. Key takeaways include study site considerations, recruiting participants, balancing realism with participant safety, and the unintended side effects of observations in a ridesharing context. The reflection points provided will help readers in considering important study aspects when conducting observations with participants with disabilities, particularly in a ridesharing setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fully autonomous or "self-driving" vehicles are an emerging technology that may hold significant mobility potential for both disabled persons and for older adults unable to operate a conventional motor vehicle. It can be argued, however, that the needs, preferences and concerns of older adults and disabled persons regarding this technology have been insufficiently explored. Using focus group methodology, this study explores the sentiments of 39 older adults (55+) regarding self driving vehicle technology. Discussions from the focus groups revealed that although participants believed that self-driving vehicles can enhance their mobility and independence, they were concerned about their reliability and safety. Participants expressed additional concerns regarding their ability to purchase such a vehicle and the training required to operate it. Opinions were mixed regarding the consideration of older adults in the design of the technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]