A new navigation app designed to help blind and low vision people is launching at three D.C. Metro stations, with more on the way.

Metro has partnered with Waymap, a new UK-based start-up, to bring the technology to the Brookland, Silver Spring, and Braddock Road Metro stations. According to Waymap founder Tom Pey, the app will be available in at least 30 Metro train and nearly 1,000 bus stops by September; the entire system is scheduled to be brought online by early 2023.

“Our goal is to provide our customers with reliable service…it’s not always easy but each day we’re making strides towards that goal,” said Christiaan Blake, WMATA’s managing director of accessibility services, at a press conference announcing the launch on Tuesday. “And this partnership that you’re hearing about today is another step towards that goal.”

The app works by feeding directions auditorily through a free and downloadable app, regardless of wifi access or cellular signal strength. It’s accurate up to three feet of a destination, and instructs a user on exactly how many steps to take and how many degrees to turn, while also adding contextual information. The app doesn’t require Metro to install any new equipment or technology in their cars, buses and stations — it simply uses a software to track how people move. According to a WMATA Accessibility Advisory Committee report earlier this month, Waymap began piloting the project in late April, after the company spent roughly a month scanning, mapping, and filming the first three stations.

“When I lost my sight, I lost the ability to explore the world around me, and when I founded Waymap I wanted it to be more than just an app,” Tom Pey, the app’s founder, said on Tuesday. “I wanted it to be a community of people who could come together, supported by technology.”

Waymap has already been successfully trialed on London’s Arriva Rail, and several stations in New York City’s subway system are piloting the technology. The app comes to D.C. via a partnership with WMATA, and Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind, a D.C.-based non-profit that serves blind and low vision residents in the region. According to Tony Cancelosi, president and CEO of Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind, roughly 70,000 people in the D.C.-area are blind or visually impaired.

“It made me feel so comfortable, and that was my first time using the metro system since I lost my sight,” said lifelong Metro rider Shirell Scott, who lost her sight during the pandemic. “Trying it let me know I have that independence back, as long as I have this option.”

Metro’s forthcoming Potomac Yard station, expected to be complete this fall, sits across from the National Industries for the Blind headquarters, and NIB president Kevin Lynch said the addition of Waymap will be crucial for hundreds of blind and low vision employees across the region. The app is also working on additional features that will boost accessibility for Metro riders who use wheelchairs.