[il-talk] Fw: [Nfbc-info] Hey, Tina, Rick B, Rochelle, Geraldine and the NFB are in the News!

[Rob Kaiser]

I thought you might find this article interesting.



-----Original Message----- 
From: Lauren Merryfield
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 4:43 PM
To: 'NFB of California List'
Subject: Re: [Nfbc-info] Hey, Tina, Rick B, Rochelle,Geraldine and the NFB 
are in the News!

Hi,
Good for you!
Thanks
Lauren

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-----Original Message-----
From: Nfbc-info [mailto:nfbc-info-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lisamaria 
Martinez
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2014 11:46 AM
To: NFB of California List
Subject: [Nfbc-info] Hey, Tina, Rick B, Rochelle, Geraldine and the NFB are 
in the News!

Did this get posted already? I'm sitting here doing research on donors for 
work and I randomly stumbled onto this article with NFB all over it. Great 
job Tina, Rochelle, rick B and Geraldine. And of course, thanks to awesome 
NfB lawyers like Tim and Haben for representing.

http://newsle.com/article/0/136603963/

I've also pasted it below for your convenience:

LOS ANGELES, April 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/-- The National Federation 
of the Blind (NFB), the oldest and largest organization of blind people in 
the United States, and four blind people residing in California—Rick Boggs, 
Geraldine Croom, Rochelle Houston, and Tina Thomas —filed suit today (case 
number: 2:14-cv-02490) in the United States District Court for the Central 
District of California against RideCharge, Inc. and three entities that 
manage taxicab fleets in Southern California:  Administrative Services 
Cooperative, Inc., LA Taxi Cooperative, Inc., and South Bay Yellow Cab 
Cooperative, Inc.
The taxicab cooperatives have deployed RideCharge's self-service, 
touchscreen payment terminals, which are inaccessible to blind taxicab 
riders, in taxicabs throughout Southern California.  The complaint alleges 
violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the California 
Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the California Disabled Persons Act.

The self-service terminals utilize an entirely visual, touchscreen interface 
mounted on the back of the front passenger seat that allows sighted taxicab 
riders to access information and services privately and independently. 
Among other features, sighted passengers are able to review trip and fare 
information, privately pay fares with a credit card, and select tip amounts 
without interacting with the driver. The exclusively visual interface lacks 
common accessibility features for blind riders.  Many other transportation 
service providers have installed text-to-speech output and tactile controls 
on their self-service terminals that allow blind riders to operate them 
independently.  As a result of RideCharge's failure to include these common 
alternative access features on its terminals, blind riders are unable to 
access the information and services offered on these devices.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
said: "The ability to travel safely and independently is central to the 
ability of blind people to live independent, productive lives.
Taxis are a valuable mode of transportation for blind people, particularly 
in places like Southern California where public transit is not always 
available.  Our right to independent travel is unjustly jeopardized when we 
enter a taxi that has critical features that cannot be independently 
accessed by the blind.  The laws of the United States and the state of 
California require, and blind Americans demand, that RideCharge and taxicab 
companies make all of their self-service terminals accessible to blind taxi 
riders."

The National Federation of the Blind and the individual plaintiffs are 
represented in this matter by Laurence Paradis, Stuart Seaborn, Michael 
Nunez, and Haben Girma of the Berkeley firm Disability Rights Advocates; 
Scott LaBarre of the Denver firm LaBarre Law Offices; and Timothy Elder of 
the Fremont, California firm TRE Legal Practice.

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