APTA | Passenger Transport
July 19, 2010

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The classifieds in this issue offer a diverse group of jobs including a transit general manager and several other executive positions!

20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

DRI Corporation Supports ADA Access
BY DAVID L. TURNEY, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors, DRI Corporation

DRI Corporation, through our Digital Recorders Inc. and TwinVision na Inc. subsidiaries in Durham, NC, develops, manufactures, and services ADA-compliant products and technologies. Our Digital Recorders® Talking Bus® automatic voice annunciation systems and TwinVision® electronic information display systems help people with disabilities achieve more independence and better mobility by providing auditory and visual messages, respectively, that convey next-stop announcements and destination information as they travel on buses and trains.

ADA ensures equal opportunity and access for persons with disabilities. Through this important legislation, DRI Corporation has achieved tremendous growth. We’ve seen our business grow from four U.S. employees and less than $200,000 in sales in Fiscal Year (FY) 1983 to 244 global employees and approximately $82.3 million in sales in FY 2009. We, like others, have faced our challenges over the years; however, the positive feedback we’ve received about our products and technologies has kept us motivated to continue our journey to provide the most robust and leading-edge ADA-compliant public transit communications systems benefiting both transit authorities and riders of mass transportation.

In 1988, we delivered what we believe to be the transit industry’s first ADA-compliant automatic voice annunciation system: the Digital Recorders® Talking Bus®. Since the product’s introduction, we’ve sold more than 10,000 systems, which have been installed in more than 100 U.S. cities. This product enables visually impaired individuals to hear what they cannot see: the next stop. While starting as an ADA initiative, the product rapidly transformed into an important tool for all riders of buses and trains, as well as an important product for vehicle operators.

Over the next 20 years, we believe ADA-compliant technologies will continue to evolve, and we hope to set the technology bar even higher in our quest to help improve the mobility of individuals—disabled or otherwise—around the world. ADA considerations are important, but even more important is that ADA-specific initiatives have been mainstreamed for the equal and daily use of everyone.

 

DRI signs at a transit facility in Athens, GA. 

 

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