As a society that loves cars, we often face the unavoidable hassles of vehicle ownership – from buying gas to paying for insurance. However, one of the most common challenges, finding a parking spot, can be eased with technology. This article introduces the top parking apps, an essential tool in the modern driver’s arsenal, designed to help you efficiently find and manage parking, saving time and money in the process.
Read on to learn about some of the top parking apps that can help you or your employees find a place to park.
Is there an App to Help You Find Parking?
There are a number of apps designed to help you find parking places, each with different features and bells and whistles, whether you’re looking to save money, find a garage, or search for a place to keep your car at the airport. Some of these parking apps let you reserve spots in advance, some tell you about the availability of on-street parking, and others let you pay for parking spots on your phone after you’ve parked.
There are a lot of videos on YouTube that show you how to use parking apps. SpotHero has a useful one you can check out here:
Why You Should Download a Parking App
The search for a convenient space is one of the major headaches of city driving. Whether you’re heading to a concert or going to dinner or having a meeting at your office downtown, the last thing you need is to aimlessly roam the streets searching for a parking spot.
With parking apps, you can avoid this hassle while enjoying these benefits:
- You’ll save time –When you have an idea of where your parking spot is and a quick and convenient way to pay for it, you save time that could be better spent on work/leisure activities. There’s no need to hunt for a spot or spend time dealing with a confusing kiosk.
- You’ll save money — In addition to helping customers find parking spots, parking apps let their users access discounted rates. Parking apps can also help you avoid tickets. We’ve seen a number of startups who were inspired by their founders dealing with things like towing costs.
- It’s better for the environment — Less time driving aimlessly searching for parking spots means less time you’ll spend burning fuel.
- It’s more practical — When was the last time you had a big handful of coins in your car? When you use an app to pay for parking, you don’t need to worry about having the right change — or enough change for your meter. In many cases, you might have already paid for your spot in advance.
- It’s safer — If you’re focused on finding a free parking space while you cruise through the streets of a new city, you might be less focused on what’s happening around you.
- It’s less stressful — Whether you’re roaming the suburbs in search of new shopping centers or traveling into New York City, traveling can be stressful. Questions like “Where are we going to park?” “Where are we parked?” or “Am I in a street cleaning spot?” can add undue stress to your trip.
- It’s more convenient — Instead of fishing out a credit card to pay for parking, you can reserve a spot and pay for it over the phone. And if something goes wrong with a meter, drivers fighting parking tickets will have proof that they paid.
Selecting the Best Parking Apps: A Guide for Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs
In the fast-paced world of entrepreneurship and small business management, finding the right tools to streamline everyday tasks is crucial. For those constantly on the move, a reliable parking app can be a game-changer, saving time and reducing stress. We at Small Business Trends understand the unique challenges faced by small business owners and entrepreneurs. Therefore, we’ve developed a comprehensive set of criteria to help you select the best parking apps, complete with a scale of importance for each:
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Ease of Use and User-Friendly Interface:
- Importance: 10/10
- We believe an app should be straightforward, minimizing the time spent on figuring out how to use it.
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Accurate and Comprehensive Coverage:
- Importance: 9/10
- The app must provide reliable information on parking spaces across various locations, crucial for planning business travels.
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Cost-Effectiveness and Transparent Pricing:
- Importance: 8/10
- Affordability and clear pricing structures are key for budget-conscious entrepreneurs.
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Real-Time Availability and Updates:
- Importance: 7/10
- Timely information on parking space availability can be vital in making quick decisions on the go.
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Customer Support and Positive Reviews:
- Importance: 6/10
- Strong customer support and favorable user reviews are indicators of the app’s reliability and overall user satisfaction.
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Integration with Business Tools:
- Importance: 5/10
- The ability to integrate with other business applications, like expense trackers, adds significant value.
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Security and Data Privacy:
- Importance: 7/10
- Ensuring the confidentiality and safety of user data is essential, especially for business owners.
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Special Features for Business Needs:
- Importance: 4/10
- Features like reserved parking, bulk booking options, or invoicing are beneficial for business users.
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Offline Accessibility:
- Importance: 3/10
- While not critical, having offline functionality can be helpful in areas with limited internet access.
By considering these factors, small business owners and entrepreneurs can choose a parking app that not only meets their specific needs but also enhances their daily operational efficiency.
Read on to see a list of some of the best parking apps of 2022.
Best Parking Apps of 2022
Our phones can do almost anything these days, so it’s not unreasonable to expect them to uncover parking spots for us. Below you’ll find a list of some of the top parking apps you can download to help you save time and money when you’re looking to park your car.
1. SpotHero
Once known as Parking Panda, Spot Hero is a parking reservation service that works with different facilities around the country to provide customers with parking in 28 major cities. Customers can find, reserve, and pay for a parking spot in a lot or garage — often at a discounted rate — and receive a parking pass either via email or through the app.
This service helps drivers find and reserve hourly, monthly and airport parking, as well as parking for events, through partnerships with sporting venues ranging from Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles to Yankee Stadium in New York.
Available on: Apple’s iOs and Android devices
2. Best Parking
Best Parking works by letting users search for parking in the moment or for future trips. Drivers can reserve spaces ahead of time, get a digital parking pass, and save as much as 50%. Best Parking links directly to the mobility platform Arrive. Best Parking was acquired in 2015 by Park Whiz, the next entry on our list.
Available on: Apple’s iOs and Android devices
3. ParkWhiz
Founded in 2006, ParkWhiz works with 4,000 parking operators in 35 states and 50 cities. Customers can use the service to find places to park on a daily or monthly basis, or for events, compare prices, and reserve parking spaces.
ParkWhiz also operates ParkWhiz Business, an online system that helps companies manage their employee and customer parking.
Available on: Apple’s iOs and Android devices
4. Parkopedia
Operating in 89 countries — and keeping tabs on more than 70 million parking spots, Parkopedia could become your favorite navigation app. Just tell Parkopeida where you’re headed in the city of your choice and it will find the closest spot for your car, how much it will cost, and how many spaces are available. The company bills itself as the “parking partner” of a number of carmakers, including GM, Ford, Mazda, and Volvo.
Available on: Apple’s iOs and Android devices
5. Way
Technically, Way is more than just an app for parking, as the company offers insurance and auto finance services. When it comes to helping people find parking spaces, Way lets users reserve hourly and monthly parking and helps locate parking spaces at the airport.
Way also offers a service called Parking Pass, which lets drivers save money, letting them hop from lot to lot for a one-time daily or monthly price. And if you’re not sure where you’re parked, Way will provide walking directions back to your lot.
6. SpotAngels
The founder of SpotAngels built their app after having their car towed and being forced to pay $569 to recover it. Available in almost every major U.S. city, the app helps people find street parking and avoid tickets, showing users parking options, and sending reminders to help drivers avoid tickets. The company website even has a map to help users find free parking.
Available on: Apple’s iOs and Android devices
7. ParkMobile
This free app offers three different ways to park, but for our purposes, we’ll focus on just one: the ability to reserve a parking space in advance. With ParkMobile, drivers who are heading into a city for the day and need to find a parking spot can search for parking garage facilities. Simply select the garages you want and reserve a spot and a time for their car.
Available on: Apple’s iOs and Android devices
8. The Parking Spot
The Parking Spot is in the conversation for the best airport parking apps, as it allows you to find places to park at a number of major airports around the U.S. The app lets users pay with touchless entry, and in some locations, offers complimentary car cleaning while travelers are away.
Available on: Apple’s iOs and Android devices
9. PayByPhone
Owned by Volkswagen Financial Services, this app lets users pay for street parking by entering their location on their phone, based on a designated number provided by the PayByPhone system on a nearby sign. Drivers can enter the amount of time they plan to stay and extend their stay without having to run back to their car to feed the meter.
Available on: Apple’s iOs and Android devices, and through Blackberry’s App World
10. Passport Parking
Much like PayByPhone, Passport Parking lets drivers find and reserve parking and pay for their spots by entering a location number on the app and paying from their phone. This app notifies users when their session is about to end, as well as when parking rates will change.
Available on: Apple’s iOs and Android devices
What is the best parking app?
It’s tough to say. Various online rankings seem to match up with the first three entries on our list, Spot Hero, BestParking, and ParkWhiz.
What is the best app to find garage parking facilities?
Much of our research points to BestParking, as it contains a massive directory of cities, all of them filled with garages and lots to keep your car.
What is the best app to find airport parking?
While there are many apps that help people find a place to park at the airport, it’s worth mentioning the Parking Space again. Much like an airline offers frequent flyer miles, this app has a program for frequent users: the more you book, the more points you accrue for free parking. It also lets you find shuttles headed to your location and to the airport.
What is the best app for finding a street parking spot?
Parknav predicts street parking availability in real-time, displaying a map of your chosen area with locations color-coded according to the likelihood of finding parking there.
What is the cheapest parking app?
The apps we’ve written about cost nothing to download. Parking apps make their money not through customers purchasing the, but by collecting commissions from the city or garages and lots where people have paid to park their cars.
What is the best parking app for iPhone?
With a five-star rating and 1.2 million members, this title goes to ParkMobile.
Table: Top Parking Apps of 2022
This table provides a quick overview of each app’s key features and their availability on different platforms, helping you choose the one that best suits your parking needs.?
| App Name | Features | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| SpotHero | Parking reservation service in 28 major cities, discounted rates, email/app parking pass, hourly/monthly/airport/event parking. | Apple iOS, Android |
| Best Parking | Search and reserve parking, digital parking pass, up to 50% savings, linked to Arrive platform. | Apple iOS, Android |
| ParkWhiz | Works with 4,000 operators in 35 states and 50 cities, daily/monthly/event parking, ParkWhiz Business for company parking management. | Apple iOS, Android |
| Parkopedia | Covers 70 million spots in 89 countries, find closest parking spot and costs, parking partner for several carmakers. | Apple iOS, Android |
| Way | Parking reservation, hourly/monthly/airport parking, Parking Pass service, walking directions to parked car. | Apple iOS, Android |
| SpotAngels | Find street parking and avoid tickets in major U.S. cities, reminders to avoid tickets, map for free parking. | Apple iOS, Android |
| ParkMobile | Reserve parking space in advance, especially in city garages. | Apple iOS, Android |
| The Parking Spot | Airport parking with touchless entry, complimentary car cleaning at some locations. | Apple iOS, Android |
| PayByPhone | Pay for street parking via phone, extend stay remotely, owned by Volkswagen Financial Services. | Apple iOS, Android, Blackberry |
| Passport Parking | Reserve and pay for parking from phone, notifications for session end and rate changes. | Apple iOS, Android |
Complementing Your Parking App Experience: Tools for Enhanced Efficiency
While parking apps significantly streamline the process of finding and securing a parking spot, integrating them with other applications can further elevate your experience, especially for small business owners and entrepreneurs on the go. Here are some additional app categories that can work in tandem with your parking app for an even smoother, more efficient experience:
- Navigation and Traffic Apps:
- Apps like Google Maps or Waze can be seamlessly integrated with your parking app to provide real-time traffic updates and the most efficient routes to your reserved parking spot.
- Benefit: Reduces the time spent in traffic and ensures you reach your parking destination via the quickest possible route.
- Expense Tracking Apps:
- Business-oriented expense trackers like Expensify or QuickBooks can sync with your parking app to automatically log parking expenses, which is especially useful for those who need to track business-related expenditures.
- Benefit: Simplifies the process of expense reporting and budget management for business travels.
- Calendar and Scheduling Apps:
- Integrating your parking app with a calendar app such as Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook can help in planning your parking needs in advance based on your schedule.
- Benefit: Ensures you never forget to book a parking spot ahead of a crucial meeting or event.
- Public Transportation Apps:
- In cities where you might park in one location and use public transit to reach your final destination, apps like Citymapper can provide information on the best public transportation options from your parking location.
- Benefit: Offers a comprehensive travel plan, combining parking with public transit routes.
- Local City Guides and Apps:
- Local city guide apps can provide insights into the area around your parking spot, including nearby amenities, dining options, and emergency services.
- Benefit: Makes it easier to navigate unfamiliar neighborhoods and find essential services while on the move.
By leveraging these additional tools in conjunction with your chosen parking app, you can create a more integrated, efficient, and stress-free travel experience, allowing you to focus more on your business and less on the logistics of getting there.
Image: Depositphotos
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