The
Access Board specifically asked for input regarding consumers’ use of pay
telephones. There were 14 references to public telephones in the survey
results. Nine were from people with
hearing loss, of which 3 expressed satisfaction that volume control had been
installed, 3 complained that the amplification was not adequate, 2 complained
about the lack of availability of TTYs and 1 complained about shelves being too
small. Here are sample comments:
A
user who is hard of hearing and has a manipulation impairment:
“I am pleased to see that more pay phones now have an
amplifying feature. Some are better than others. There is one kind that requires
the user to hold down a button in the handset to maintain the higher volume….
this is hard to use for any length of time. It works better to have a button
that is pushed once to get a louder volume.”
Two users who are hard of hearing:
“Not all pay phones are loud enough, even with the
amplifiers. I wish the companies that are responsible for maintaining them would
check them regularly. The consumer often doesn't have a way to reach them to let
them know about the problem.”
“I use [public pay] phones in airports which are very
high in background noise and find them very useful. You sometimes have to try
several to find a good one but it is worth it. … New ones in the San Juan
Airport have a button but it is not functionable. The ones in the American
Airlines wing are somewhat older and work well. Sometimes I have to use a
clamp-on ear piece amplifier to provide sufficient power.”
Two users who are deaf:
“I would feel better about them if I was sure I could
get a TTY from the desk like they say. I
don’t like having to carry mine everywhere.”
“Most pay phone booths do not have adequate shelf
space to hold [a TTY]. Many of them have none.”
Three comments were from people with visual impairments
who had difficulty locating pay phones. The
problem of locating public phones has been a continuing issue for people with
visual impairments. There is no
Guideline covering the ability to locate the product. See Recommendation C1.
“I can only find them in buildings I know well.
Otherwise I used to give up. It’s
basically why I got my cell [phone].”
“Finding one is the problem. My trick is to walk close to the wall and listen for one-way
conversations.”
“I look for a minute and then ask.
Or I wait til I get home.”
Two comments were from people who had difficulty operating
the keypad or volume control.
“Frequently the keypads on phones are difficult to
reach or awkward to use for the mobility and/or dexterity impaired.
Switch bounce [unintended multiple
activation of the key] compounds this problem because it increases the
workload of the person making the call as a result of having to re-dial the
phone number when switch bounce causes a dialing error.”
“[It’s] hard to adjust volume controls on most if
not all pay phones.”
1193.41(c) Operable with little or no color perception.
1193.41(h) Operable without speech.
1193.43(h) Non-interference with hearing technologies.
1193.43(i) Hearing aid coupling [by HAC Order].