[Nfb-kzoo] Proposed Letter to Metro Transit

[Jason Meddaugh]

Thanks all for your comments. I'm not sure either about the cost
factor, but I don't want to scare them away. That being said, I'll
talk to at least one of the companies to get them on board as well as
I'm sending this letter.

On 3/30/09, Moss, Corda (DELEG) <mossc at michigan.gov> wrote:
> Excellent letter, J.J.
>
> Corda Moss
> Administrative Assistant
> Michigan Commission for the Blind
> Training Center
> Phone: 269 337 3854
> Fax: 269 337 3872
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfb-kzoo-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-kzoo-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of J.J. Meddaugh
> Sent: Saturday, March 28, 2009 11:05 AM
> To: NFB of Kalamazoo Michigan List
> Subject: [Nfb-kzoo] Proposed Letter to Metro Transit
>
> I would like to send the following to the director of Metro Transit, as
> they are set up to receive over 3 million in federal stimulus money for
> capital improvements. This is a rough draft, so probably needs some
> work. Thoughts?
>
> Dear Mr. Schomisch:
>
> My name is J.J. Meddaugh, and I a member of the Kalamazoo chapter of the
> National Federation of the Blind of Michigan. I am writing to thank you
> for your willingness to improve accessibility of the Metro Transit
> system and ask for your consideration on some proposed improvements.
>
> I read with interest the probable allocation of roughly 3.1 million
> dollars of Federal stimulus funds to be spent on capital improvements. I
> would like to recommend that a portion of this money be used to outfit
> the entire bus fleet with a modern positioning and audible stop
> announcement system which would help to increase access to blind and
> visually impaired passengers.
>
> Unfortunately, the current system used to announce stops is
> unpredictable and inadequate. Only major stops are announced, and the
> driver must manually activate the announcement. This often leads to
> inconsistency and confusion. If an automatic system were to announce
> every stop on each route, this would allow the driver to more
> effectively concentrate on the roads while providing a better experience
> for passengers. In addition, GPS technology could be used to offer
> realtime bus information to all passengers in multiple forms.
>
> I have experienced audible systems announcing every stop in systems
> large and small, and the audio announcements are not seen as cumbersome
> or an annoyance. This funding provides for an excellent time to
> implement such a system.
>
> The Kalamazoo chapter of the National Federation of the Blind would be
> happy to work with you and your organization to implement this system,
> secure additional matching funds, and determine the most reliable and
> usable technology for this project. In addition, we would be happy to
> answer any questions you may have. I urge you to consider this request,
> and look forward to hearing from you soon.
>
> Sincerely,
> J.J. Meddaugh
>
> _______________________________________________
> Nfb-kzoo mailing list
> Nfb-kzoo at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-kzoo_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Nfb-kzoo:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfb-kzoo_nfbnet.org/mossc%40michig
> an.gov
>
> _______________________________________________
> Nfb-kzoo mailing list
> Nfb-kzoo at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-kzoo_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Nfb-kzoo:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfb-kzoo_nfbnet.org/jj%40bestmidi.com
>