[Nfbmt] National Federation of the Blind and Verifone Collaborate to Make Taxicab Terminals Accessible

[Bruce&Joy Breslauer]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
CONTACT:
Chris Danielsen
Director of Public Relations
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
cdanielsen at nfb.org
 

National Federation of the Blind and Verifone 
Collaborate to Make Taxicab Terminals Accessible

 
Baltimore, Maryland (July 20, 2015): The National Federation of the Blind
(NFB) <http://www.nfb.org/> , the nation's leading advocate for accessible
technology, and Verifone will work together to enhance the accessibility of
Verifone's in-taxi technology for blind passengers by the end of this year,
under an agreement that was recently reached by the two organizations.
Verifone's in-taxi systems enable passengers to pay their cab fare with a
credit or debit card and enjoy curated media content during taxi rides.  
 
Currently, blind passengers can use the terminals by tapping the center of
the screen to initiate an accessibility mode, which uses voice prompts to
provide information about the fare and to guide the user through the payment
process. Planned accessibility enhancements will include voicing information
about the taxi's then-current location, as well as other improvements to the
user interface. Additionally, Verifone and NFB will discuss the feasibility
of making other new features accessible if and when they are introduced.
 
Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:
"Verifone has already done outstanding work to make its taxicab units
accessible to blind passengers, and we are delighted to work with the
company to improve the user experience even more. We commend Verifone for
working with blind users to improve its systems and look forward to helping
this great company set an even higher standard for accessibility in the
taxicab industry."
 
Amos Tamam, Senior Vice President of Taxi Systems for Verifone said: "We are
committed to providing a great experience for all users of our technology.
We are delighted to work with the National Federation of the Blind to make
sure that our systems are usable and accessible to blind taxicab
passengers."
 
The NFB raised its accessibility concerns to Verifone, and the parties
quickly began effective collaboration to resolve these concerns. The
negotiations were facilitated on behalf of the NFB by the law firms of
LaBarre Law Offices; TRE Legal; Clark, Hunt, Ahern & Embry; and Disability
Rights Advocates.
 
 

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About the National Federation of the Blind
 
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

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