One of the largest bank's in New England, Chittenden Bank, has fully committed to talking ATMs. The previous commitment was for 35 talking ATMs for a maximum expenditure of $250,000. According to publicly available data, this amounts to a per unit cost of about $7,142 for this institution. Kelly Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CHITTENDEN BANK AND THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND REACH AGREEMENT TO INSTALL TALKING ATMS AT ALL CHITTENDEN LOCATIONS Burlington, Vermont (February 26, 2003)- Chittenden Bank and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) today reached an agreement that will result in Chittenden accelerating its previously announced plan to install voice-activated automated teller machines (ATMs) at all of its ATM locations throughout Vermont. On February 5, 2002, Chittenden announced that it would spend $250,000 over the next five years modifying most of its ATMs to offer voice-guidance technology. Since then, Chittenden has worked with the NFB and other local organizations to strengthen its demonstrated commitment to its blind and visually impaired customers. Local visually impaired residents assisted the bank in testing its new system.. Under today's agreement with the NFB, Chittenden has committed to accelerating the ATM conversion to offer voice-guidance at nearly all of its ATM locations within four years. Chittenden has already installed these "talking ATMs" at twelve locations, including Burlington, South Burlington, Williston Road and the University Mall, Williston, Middlebury, Newport, Montpelier, Morrisville, Bennington, Rutland, Brattleboro, and Springfield. Over the course of the next four years, nearly all of Chittenden's remaining ATMs will either be upgraded or replaced to offer voice-guidance technology. In addition, Chittenden will offer voice-guidance technology on all new ATMs. Talking ATMs provide step-by-step audio instructions that guide blind customers through bank transactions without assistance. Personal headphones are plugged into a universal audio jack installed in the ATM to access the voice-guidance technology employed in talking ATMs. While most ATMs have Braille keypads and labels for customers who are blind or visually impaired, this feature has proved to be an ineffective accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the NFB. "Not all blind individuals can read Braille," explains Dr. Marc Maurer, President, National Federation of the Blind. "And Braille keypads and labels are static. They do not provide access to the instructions being displayed on the computer screen. These instructions are necessary to complete the most common ATM banking transactions. As a result, blind customers who do not have access to talking ATMs have little choice but to rely on others to do their banking for them." Brenda Jeanne (B.J.) Patterson, NFB of Vermont President, praised the partnership between NFB and Chittenden that resulted in the agreement on talking ATMs. "All too often, the needs of blind customers or employees get overlooked. This agreement should serve as a model for all companies in assuring that blind and visually impaired persons have full accessibility, as well as the resources that enable them to act independently." Chittenden is a locally owned and operated bank with a demonstrated commitment to the communities we serve, including Vermont's blind and visually impaired residents. "Our ATM network was created to ensure convenient access for our customers to their funds. Therefore, we appreciate the guidance offered by the NFB and its membership as Chittenden continues its efforts to make certain that our ATMs are accessible to visually impaired customers as well. Our four-year goal is to make a voice-guidance ATM available at virtually all of our ATM locations," said Lawrence W. DeShaw, President of Chittenden. Chittenden was founded in 1906 and is a full-service, Vermont-based and managed financial institution. Chittenden provides a wide range of financial services and products to individuals and businesses from its fifty-four offices and seventy ATM locations throughout Vermont. To find out more about Chittenden and its products, please visit chittenden.com. The National Federation of the Blind, with more than 50,000 members and 700 local and state affiliates and chapters, is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States. As a consumer and advocacy organization, NFB is the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind. VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List. To join or leave the list, send a message to [log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type "subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations. VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html