Believed an unused filmed item for a magazine style programme produced by deaf students of the North East Media Training Centre (NEMTC) about a deaf woman from Gateshead who was able to convince a local taxi firm to install a Minicom machine into the office that will allow her and other deaf people to order taxi’s over the telephone. Using sign language, a deaf woman explains how she previously needed the help of other people to book a taxi over the telephone before the introduction of a...

Believed an unused filmed item for a magazine style programme produced by deaf students of the North East Media Training Centre (NEMTC) about a deaf woman from Gateshead who was able to convince a local taxi firm to install a Minicom machine into the office that will allow her and other deaf people to order taxi’s over the telephone. Using sign language, a deaf woman explains how she previously needed the help of other people to book a taxi over the telephone before the introduction of a Minicom. She goes onto explain how she was able to get a local taxi company to invest in this devise. Sitting at a table the woman uses the Minicom to book a taxi with Central Taxis in Gateshead. In their office a telephone rings and the receptionist places the receive into a modem which translates the message being typed by the woman into text that the receptionist can read. She types a reply to the booking request which is received the deaf woman. The owner of Central Taxis explains his reasoning for getting a Minicom. A taxi arriving at the deaf woman’s address and the driver rings her apartment buzzer. Upstairs in the flat a light flashing telling the woman that someone is at the door. She looks down from her window at the taxi driver below. She explains now that she feels confident ordering a taxi with the Minicom as it means she doesn’t have to go around to their office especially in the dark when she is potentially vulnerable. The woman comes out of her building getting into the waiting taxi. She writes her destination down on a piece of paper for the driver to read, she sticks her thumb up. The owner of Central Taxis talks about the potential of this technology in his type of business as the deaf community is an untapped market. She believes that other companies will invest in Minicoms and help more businesses make more profit. The report ends on the taxi pulling away from the apartment building.