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<b> <br>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br>
<br>
CONTACT:<br>
</b>Chris Danielsen<br>
Director of Public Relations<br>
National Federation of the Blind<br>
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330<br>
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)<br>
<a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</a><br>
<br>
<div align="center"><b>National Federation of the Blind and Verifone
<br>
Collaborate to Make Taxicab Terminals Accessible<br>
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<br>
<b>Baltimore, Maryland (July 20, 2015):</b>
<a href="http://www.nfb.org/">The National Federation of the Blind
(NFB)</a>, 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. <br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.”<br>
<br>
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.”<br>
<br>
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.<br>
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</b> <br>
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<b>About the National Federation of the Blind<br>
</b> <br>
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.<br>
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