|
CONTACT:
Edie Surtees, Communications Director
Disability Rights Texas
512-407-2739
esurtees@drtx.org
Consistent with its commitment to all of
its riders, the Metropolitan Transit
Authority of Harris County (“METRO”) today announced an initiative to make its
affiliated websites, mobile applications, and print formation more accessible
and inclusive. METRO is taking the lead in the
public transportation field regarding online
accessibility for individuals with visual impairments. The organization adopted the Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.0 level AA as its accessibility
standard and is making enhancements to work toward meeting this standard. METRO
will also continue providing braille, large print, electronic and audio
versions of print information to riders with visual impairments upon their
request within a reasonable time after the request has been made.
METRO worked with blind riders and with
Disability Rights Texas, a non-profit legal advocacy agency serving Texans with
disabilities, on its accessibility initiative.
Lisa Batist is a rider with a visual
impairment who worked with METRO on its initiative for patrons with visual
impairments.“With this announcement Metro has assumed an important
leadership role across its service area in providing transit for the visually impaired,” said Batist.
George Battiste, a Texas resident who is a
regular Metro rider and has been blind since birth, agreed. “I applaud the Authority's significant efforts in ensuring that I, and other people with
visual impairments, will be able to independently read important transportation
information,” said Battiste.
About WCAG:
The WCAG 2.0 guidelines are published by the Web
Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an
international community that develops open standards to ensure the long-term
growth of the Web. The guidelines ensure that websites and mobile applications
are developed and designed to be accessible to persons with visual and other
disabilities. More information is available at w3.org/WAI.
|
