We are seeing several new parking applications designed specifically for smartphones and PDAs this year, and as I talk to each of the developers, I find the same story. It's not a bunch of executives sitting around a conference room brainstorming what the next big application might be, planning the future of the parking industry. In each case it is one person's experience at the parking space level.
"I have had my own parking nightmares, with parking fines and my car being towed on numerous occasions - this was very frustrating and very expensive," says Chris Bocsardy, the creator of iParkmycar, an iPhone application that displays the nearest parking options with a rate comparison. "I wanted to develop an app that would make parking a little easier and stress free – and one that I would use myself."
Another new iPhone application introduced this year is ParkPatrol, which allows users to report the location of a parking patrol officer so other users can determine if they are risking a fine.
Joe Darling from CRWDPOWER.COM, the inventor of ParkPatrol, says, "I came up with idea personally, based on frustrations with the parking situation here in my country, Australia. I am from the US and lived in Europe for 10 years so I am also familiar with the same parking conditions that are frustrating to most individuals on all 3 continents."
Meanwhile, Jason Woodard, a Software Engineer at Google Labs recalls the moment he thought if Google Open Spot, an Android application that allows users to inform other users when a parking spot has become available.
"The idea for Open Spot came when I walking on East 94th Street and passed an open parking spot," Woodard says. "I noticed it because there hadn't been any open curb for the length of the block. I wondered how many people were circling for parking right then, and realized that my Android phone could be used to identify parking for the benefit of others."
I think this enlightening view into the minds of the inventors of the most recent parking applications is another testament to the significant impact that parking has on people's lives.
BTW, I was thinking about Google's branding of Open Spot. They call their mail application Gmail. I wonder why they didn't follow the same naming convention for their "spot" application.
Pete Goldin
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