Mobile App Makes DC Transit Easy to Navigate for Visually Impaired Riders

Passengers with visual impairments on the D.C.-area transit system can now use an app to navigate the network, making the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s system one of the nation’s most accessible, according to a press release from app developer Waymap. 

As Kea Wilson explains in an article in Streetsblog USA, the app relies on the phone’s motion sensors to let users navigate even underground, making it potentially “the first and only indoor mapping service that requires no external infrastructure to work.” It also provides turn-by-turn audio cues and touts “step-level accuracy.” 

Wilson’s article points out that the app has had unexpected benefits for users beyond people with visual impairments. “Users can request routes that avoid stairs, escalators, and elevators, for instance, or ask the app to send them alerts about the exact location of wheelchair ramps before they leave the house and find themselves stranded without one. They can fine tune the speed and pitch of audio alerts to match their preferences and cognitive needs, as well as switch between four different languages.”

The company hopes the app can offer a more inclusive transit experience and plans to expand to more cities, as well as map the interior of other locations such as grocery stores and hospitals to offer a more complete end-to-end travel experience. While Washington, D.C. is the first system to be fully available on the platform, the app is also live in some locations in other cities including Los Angeles, Brisbane, Australia, and Madrid, Spain.