Partners for Justice Co-founder Emily Galvin-Almanza, a former California public defender, stated in a May 26 opinion that by offering free rides to public defender clients, Uber enables those clients to attend court dates and required appointments that they may have otherwise struggled to attend due to a lack of affordable, accessible transportation.
"For folks relying on public transit, too many of our cities have constructed systems where the city's sprawl is so large that it may take several hours just to cross town," said Galvin-Almanza. "And the cost of public transit is not negligible – I have had far too many clients arrested for being on the bus or train without having paid the fare, while trying to make it to an appointment that a judge said they must attend or risk incarceration. Recently, we solved this problem for some of our clients in California, Texas and Louisiana, when Uber stepped up to offer free rides to public defender clients who needed to get to court or urgent appointments. These free rides can be life-changing: in just a matter of months, we had several clients able to make it to court on time and avoid getting arrested for their absences, keeping families together and sparing people jail time."
According to Galvin-Almanza, many individuals who get arrested are from low-income communities. Even for a misdemeanor charge, their cases frequently last months, meaning the individuals are forced to take time off work, cover childcare costs, and find transportation to court and other mandated appointments. She said transportation is one of the contributors to mass incarceration because many people do not have the ability to get to court, probation meetings, and therapy programs. In some cases, clients risk incarceration if they fail to appear at court or other required appointments.
Galvin-Almanza expressed concern that the California Supreme Court’s reconsideration of Proposition 22, which classifies Uber and other rideshare drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, could put the free ride program at risk. She emphasized the need for long-term solutions like affordable public transit fares so clients do not have to permanently rely on charity.
Most people in the court system have eight to ten required court appearances within six months, even if their case does not go to trial, according to a post on Partners for Justice’s website. Uber and Partners for Justice launched a pilot program in Los Angeles in 2022 which has now expanded across the state as well as to Texas and Louisiana. Through the program, hundreds of clients have gained access to free transportation to court dates.
Individuals who fail to appear in court can face consequences such as arrest warrants, fines, and additional charges. According to a report from the Prison Policy Initiative, many individuals who fail to appear are among "the poorest and most marginalized people in the system." Eighty-seven percent of felony defendants who fail to appear are nonviolent offenders, according to the report which cited a study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Galvin-Almanza worked with the Los Angeles and Santa Clara County Public Defenders’ Offices prior to co-founding Partners for Justice.