Latest news with #PIRG
The Verge
7 days ago
- Business
- The Verge
Texas Right to Repair bill passes, heads to the governor's desk
Texas moved closer to becoming the next state with a right to repair law on the books, as the state Senate unanimously voted 31 - 0 to finalize HB 2963 this weekend. It would require manufacturers to make spare parts, manuals, and necessary tools available for equipment sold or used in the country's second most populated state. As more states have passed right to repair laws, we've seen repair options and information becoming more widely available nationwide from companies like Apple and Samsung. If the bill is signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, that will add another significant market with these requirements in place. A press release from the United States Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), which has pushed for repairability laws nationwide, noted that this would make Texas the ninth state with a right to repair rule, and the seventh with a version that includes consumer electronics. It follows New York, Colorado, Minnesota, California, Oregon, Maine, and most recently, Washington, and would be the first state on the list with a Republican-controlled government. 'More repair means less waste. Texas produces some 621,000 tons of electronic waste per year, which creates an expensive and toxic mess. Now, thanks to this bipartisan win, Texans can fix that,' said Environment Texas executive director Luke Metzger.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Travel nightmare: Man says Spirit Airlines lost bag of gifts months ago, hasn't made restitution
It's been four months since Spirit Airlines lost a Cobb County family's luggage, and tell Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray that they still have not gotten any restitution from Spirit Airlines. William Bruce said his family dropped off their bag loaded with Christmas gifts for their family back in Brazil at the counter at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Jan. 25. Bruce said he was so amazed by the self-service drop-off that he recorded a video. That was the last time he saw his bag. 'They want you to go away. They'd rather you just get tired and just go away,' Bruce said. But Bruce is refusing to give up in his customer service mess with Spirit Airlines. 'All you can do is text or talk to a bot, never a real person. And it just gets so frustrating,' Bruce told Gray. It was a January flight from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale to Rio, where Spirit lost his wife's bag that was loaded down with gifts for her Brazilian family - about $1,000 in purchases. TRENDING STORIES: Murder suspect shoots girlfriend in head in East Point, goes on 2-state crime spree, police say Husband ran off to Costa Rica with nanny after wife's south GA murder, GBI says Possible explosion at Georgia Volkswagen dealership, officials say 'All the Christmas presents, all the stuff that she had been saving,, were gone,' Bruce said. It's what happened since that has really upset Bruce – months of getting nowhere, trying to get compensation for the lost bag. Each spring, the consumer advocacy group PIRG analyzes U.S Department of Transportation airline complaint data. 'Overall, Spirit had the second worst complaint ratio behind only Frontier,' said Teresea Murry from PIRG. Murry said if you don't get satisfaction from the airline, you can file a complaint directly with the Department of Transportation. 'Then that airline has 30 days to at least acknowledge your complaint. And then they have 60 days to respond in writing with details,' Murry said. Finally, after months of waiting, Spirit told the Bruces they would pay restitution for the lost bag – just $270. But it cost more than $200 in bag fees just to pay for a service they never got – flying the bag to Brazil. 'They're Spirit. They are ghosts. I'm like, 'Well, they're treating us like ghosts. They're really ghosting us,'' Bruce said. Gray showed Bruce where to file a complaint with the DOT. He said he was filing that on Friday. It's important to note that you need to complain to the airline first. PIRG said it's a good idea to jot down notes on what's in your bag, or even take pictures when you're traveling.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Right to wheelchair repair bill signed into law
People who use wheelchairs to get around Washington will soon have more options for repairing them. It's thanks to legislation signed into law Monday. Senate Bill 5680 will require wheelchair equipment manufacturers to provide owners and independent repair providers access to documentation, parts, embedded software, firmware, and tools. The new law will take effect July 27. 'If something goes wrong with your wheelchair, you should be able to fix it yourself or take it to a small business to get it fixed,' Senator Drew Hansen (D-Bainbridge Island) said. He sponsored the bill. 'We want people with wheelchairs to have choices for how to repair their equipment.' A 2022 study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) found that repair times can sometimes take between four to seven weeks. Rep. Mia Gregerson (D-SeaTac) led the policy work on the bill and sponsored the bill's House version. 'People who rely on mobility equipment are the real experts on their devices. They deserve better access to the parts, tools, and information needed to keep their equipment working, so they can travel safely — whether it's to a doctor's appointment or to work,' Gregerson said. 'This community-driven legislation builds on the important work done in other states, and I'm incredibly proud to have partnered with Sen. Hansen on this measure. Washington state can now join the growing national movement for the right to repair.' The bill passed the House and the Senate unanimously. Colorado passed similar legislation in 2022.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
These airlines had the most and least passenger complaints in 2024
Flying can be a hassle even under the best of circumstances. When trips are marred by delays, cancellations and mishandled luggage, air travel can become a nightmare. In 2024, customers lodged a record 66,675 complaints against U.S. airlines, according to a new report from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, a consumer advocacy group, based on data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Passenger complaints have surged since the pandemic, rising every year since 2021, according to PIRG. "When you file a complaint, the DOT asks if you talked to airline, so it's not like the DOT complaint line is your first stop," U.S. PIRG consumer watchdog director Teresa Murray told CBS MoneyWatch. "When people try to get their money back and the airline hasn't done it, that's when people file complaints." For example, some customers sought refunds they were due related to flight cancellations or delays, while others sought reimbursement they were owed for lost or damaged piece of luggage. Airlines now face added pressure under new rules adopted in 2024 that require them to provide automatic refunds to customers when their flights are canceled or significantly delayed. Pandemic impact Prior to 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in the U.S., annual complaints against all airlines hovered below 20,000. That year, they jumped to more than 102,000 during what was a catastrophic period for air carriers, given travel restrictions and plummeting demand for flying. Airlines struggled to ramp capacity back up in 2021 and 2022, resulting in plenty of cancellations and delays. At the top 10 U.S. airlines, cancellations rose from 1.28% of flights in 2023 to 1.36% last year, resulting in a total of 102,908 canceled flights in 2024, according to the report. Delays also worsened, with 78.1% of flights arriving on time last year, down from 78.3% in 2023. In total, roughly 1.7 million flights were either delayed or canceled in 2024. Nationwide air traffic controller shortages could lead to more snarls in schedules for the remainder of 2025, PIRG said. One relative bright spot in the report: Airlines mishandled fewer bags and wheelchairs in 2024 compared to the previous year. While that showed some modest improvement, 2.7 million bags were still lost or damaged, as were 11,357 wheelchairs and scooters. The carrier with the highest rate of complaints per 100,000 passengers: Frontier Airlines, which had the worst cancellation record, worst record for on-time arrivals and worst record for involuntary bumping, PIRG found. It ranked second-worst for the share of wheelchairs that it mishandled. "That's a lot of worsts," Murray said. These were the best- and worst-performing airlines last year in terms of passenger complaints, flight cancellations and delays, and other metrics, according to PIRG. Overall complaints Best airlines Southwest (1.5 complaint per 100,000 passengers) Alaska (2.6 per 100,000 passengers) Hawaiian (3.8 per 100,000 passengers) Worst airlines Frontier (23.3 complaints per 100,000 passengers)Spirit (12.8 per 100,000 passengers) JetBlue (10.4 per 100,000 passengers) Flight cancellations Best airlines Southwest (0.83% of flights canceled)Hawaiian (1.05% canceled)Delta (1.09% canceled) Worst airlines Frontier (2.32% of flights canceled)Spirit (1.91% canceled)United (1.74% canceled) Delays Best airlines Hawaiian (16.42% of flights delayed)Delta (17.98% delayed)United (20.86% delayed) Worst airlines Frontier (30.5% of flights delayed)JetBlue (26.94% delayed)Spirit (25.52% delayed) Mishandled bags Best airlines Allegiant (0.2%)JetBlue (0.35%)Frontier (0.4%) Worst airlines American (0.79%)United (0.66%)Alaska (0.58%) Mishandled wheelchairs Best airlines Delta (0.63%) Allegiant (0.75%)United (0.97%) Worst airlines Spirit (2.07%)Frontier (1.76%)American (1.63%) Involuntary bumping Best airlines Allegiant (0 per 10,000 passengers)Delta (0 per 10,000 passengers)United (0.03 per 10,000 passengers) Worst airlines Frontier (2.25 per 10,000 passengers)American (0.67 per 10,000 passengers)Spirit (0.48 per 10,000 passengers) Sneak peek: Fatal First Date Trump teases "good news" on Russia-Ukraine war Arrests by masked federal agents are "slippery slope," former DHS attorney warns
CBS News
15-05-2025
- CBS News
These airlines had the most and least passenger complaints in 2024
Flying can be a hassle even under the best of circumstances. When trips are marred by delays, cancellations and mishandled luggage, air travel can become a nightmare. In 2024, customers lodged a record 66,675 complaints against U.S. airlines, according to a new report from the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, a consumer advocacy group, based on data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Passenger complaints have surged since the pandemic, rising every year since 2021, according to PIRG. "When you file a complaint, the DOT asks if you talked to airline, so it's not like the DOT complaint line is your first stop," U.S. PIRG consumer watchdog director Teresa Murray told CBS MoneyWatch. "When people try to get their money back and the airline hasn't done it, that's when people file complaints." For example, some customers sought refunds they were due related to flight cancellations or delays, while others sought reimbursement they were owed for lost or damaged piece of luggage. Airlines now face added pressure under new rules adopted in 2024 that require them to provide automatic refunds to customers when their flights are canceled or significantly delayed. Pandemic impacft Prior to 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in the U.S., annual complaints against all airlines hovered below 20,000. That year, they jumped to more than 102,000 during what was a catastrophic period for air carriers, given travel restrictions and plummeting demand for flying. Airlines struggled to ramp capacity back up in 2021 and 2022, resulting in plenty of cancellations and delays. At the top 10 U.S. airlines, cancellations rose from 1.28% of flights in 2023 to 1.36% last year, resulting in a total of 102,908 canceled flights in 2024, according to the report. Delays also worsened, with 78.1% of flights arriving on time last year, down from 78.3% in 2023. In total, roughly 1.7 million flights were either delayed or canceled in 2024. Nationwide air traffic controller shortages could lead to more snarls in schedules for the remainder of 2025, PIRG said. One relative bright spot in the report: Airlines mishandled fewer bags and wheelchairs in 2024 compared to the previous year. While that showed some modest improvement, 2.7 million bags were still lost or damaged, as were 11,357 wheelchairs and scooters. The carrier with the highest rate of complaints per 100,000 passengers: Frontier Airlines, which had the worst cancellation record, worst record for on-time arrivals and worst record for involuntary bumping, PIRG found. It ranked second-worst for the share of wheelchairs that it mishandled. "That's a lot of worsts," Murray said. These were the best- and worst-performing airlines last year in terms of passenger complaints, flight cancellations and delays, and other metrics, according to PIRG. Overall complaints Best airlines Southwest (1.5 complaint per 100,000 passengers) Alaska (2.6 per 100,000 passengers) Hawaiian (3.8 per 100,000 passengers) Worst airlines Frontier (23.3 complaints per 100,000 passengers) Spirit (12.8 per 100,000 passengers) JetBlue (10.4 per 100,000 passengers) Flight cancellations Best airlines Southwest (0.83% of flights canceled) Hawaiian (1.05% canceled) Delta (1.09% canceled) Worst airlines Frontier (2.32% of flights canceled) Spirit (1.91% canceled) United (1.74% canceled) Delays Best airlines Hawaiian (16.42% of flights delayed) Delta (17.98% delayed) United (20.86% delayed) Worst airlines Frontier (30.5% of flights delayed) JetBlue (26.94% delayed) Spirit (25.52% delayed) Mishandled bags Best airlines Allegiant (0.2%) JetBlue (0.35%) Frontier (0.4%) Worst airlines American (0.79%) United (0.66%) Alaska (0.58%) Mishandled wheelchairs Best airlines Delta (0.63%) Allegiant (0.75%) United (0.97%) Worst airlines Spirit (2.07%) Frontier (1.76%) American (1.63%) Involuntary bumping Best airlines Allegiant (0 per 10,000 passengers) Delta (0 per 10,000 passengers) United (0.03 per 10,000 passengers) Worst airlines Frontier (2.25 per 10,000 passengers) American (0.67 per 10,000 passengers) Spirit (0.48 per 10,000 passengers)
