Thousands of ATMs to accommodate blind |
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Wed, 27 Jun 2007 19:01
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BOSTON (AP) - The nation's largest non-bank owner of ATMs has agreed to improve access for the blind at its machines, which are located in malls, gas stations and pharmacies, Massachusetts officials said Wednesday.Cardtronics Inc., based in Houston, will make all of its ATMs accessible to the blind by 2010, under an agreement with the National Federation of the Blind and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.Cardtronics operates about 24,000 ATMs in locations including Albertson's supermarkets, CVS pharmacy, CostCo., Hess Corp., Sunoco, and Target. A Cardtronics spokesman did not immediately return a call.The machines will employ voice guidance technology, which is commonly available at many bank ATMs. It is activated by plugging headphones into a jack on the machines. The National Federation of the Blind will monitor the progress of Cardtronics, according to the agreement.'To be full participants in modern society, blind people must have access to these devices,' Marc Maurer, president of the federation, said in a statement.The federation and the attorney general's office originally filed suit in 2003 against E-Trade Access Inc. and E-Trade Bank. Cardtronics purchased the E-Trade ATM fleet in June 2004.'We live in an age where certain technologies have become integral parts of our daily lives, and it is important that such technology is accessible to all members of society,' Attorney General Martha Coakley said in a statement.The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act required ATMs to be made accessible to and independently useable by the blind, Coakley said.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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