[Nfbf-l] FW: interesting idea: reviews of businesses relating to their accessibility

[Tinetta Cooper]

I thought this would be of interest to the list.

 

Tinetta Cooper

 

AbleRoad officially launches!

AbleRoad Announces Official Launch of Website and App to Help People with
Disabilities

App and Website Allow Users to Research and Review Businesses and Venues for
Accessibility

Waltham, Mass. - October 30, 2013 -

AbleRoad

, a company that connects people with accessible places, today announced the
launch

of the AbleRoad website and app that allows people with disabilities and
medical

conditions - including those who use a wheelchair or have other mobility,
vision,

hearing or cognitive disabilities - and their families and caregivers to
review any

public space or business.

AbleRoad is the most comprehensive website and app available for helping
people with

disabilities. The company has worked with Yelp, so users can see both the
Yelp and

AbleRoad ratings for a business on the same screen, with up to 200 results
per search.

The app allows users to add ratings and upload photos while on location and
rate

them for many factors relating to ease of access.

Reviews of restaurants, stores, hotels, medical practices and facilities,
and more

can be shared easily on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
The app

supports badge ranking of reviewers, and has voice over screen capabilities
for people

who are blind or low vision. Users can leave detailed reviews for others to
read,

allowing people with disabilities or their families and friends to research
and choose

the businesses they want to patronize. AbleRoad is seeking new users around
the world

to enter reviews in an effort to make the website and app even more
comprehensive

and useful for people with disabilities.

AbleRoad is the creation of Kevin McGuire, who has used a wheelchair since
being

struck by an intoxicated driver at the age of seven. After graduating from
Georgetown

University Law Center in 1987, McGuire founded McGuire Associates, the
nation's leading

consulting firm specializing in compliance with state and federal disability
laws.

His firm's clients include the New England Patriots, Live Nation concert
venues,

the Shubert Organization and the White House Visitor Center, among others.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 56.7 million Americans, or nearly 20%
of the

population, have some type of disability, making them the largest minority
group

in the nation. People with disabilities represent $220 billion dollars in
discretionary

spending power, and more than 25% of American consumers are currently
disabled, or

have a close friend or family member who is. With the number of Americans
over age

65 projected to double by the year 2030, the need for AbleRoad's services
will only

increase over time.

McGuire is working to make AbleRoad not only a tool for people with
disabilities,

but a brand of its own that will one day lend its seal of approval to a
variety of

products and services marketed toward them. "As a child of a parent who is
aging,

I've found there is no certification program for medical products like
walkers and

grab bars," McGuire says. "Taking the rating and reviewing one step further,
I would

like our website and app to be able to direct people to AbleRoad approved
goods,

services and contractors."

About AbleRoad

Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, AbleRoad connects people with accessible
places,

and gives people with disabilities, families, friends, caregivers and
business owners

an online destination to rate and review community access. The AbleRoad app
is available

as a free download for both iOS and Android devices at Apple's App Store and
Google

Play. For more information, please visit:

www.ableroad.com

.

Media Contact:

Ali Randall

Daisy Public Relations

Phone: (303) 718-3373

Email:

alir16 at yahoo.com