What’s the problem?
According to an IBM report, over 30% of city traffic is caused by drivers looking for a parking spot. Cape Town is no different – it is exceptionally difficult for commuters to find open parking bays especially in the CBD. Parking marshals oversee designated areas, with a specific number of parking bays allocated to their watch. This team of marshals use devices to issue tickets and track how many bays are available or open in each of their areas.
What does ParkFind do?
Working closely with the Street Parking Solutions team, we created ParkFind, a mobile application that helps drivers find specific areas within the Cape Town CBD, where they are most likely able to find an open on-street parking bay. The application works quite simply, making use of a colour-coded reference that indicates the likelihood of finding open parking spots. The colour coding functions as follows:
- Green – users are very likely to find an open parking spot here.
- Orange – users have a good chance of finding an open parking spot here.
- Red – it is unlikely that users will find an open parking spot here, but there are one or two open spots.
- Grey - no parking information is available at this time.
How does ParkFind work?
ParkFind works intuitively from the moment it’s installed on a user’s mobile device. The user signs in, and using their mobile phone’s GPS coordinates or location-based information, ParkFind will automatically indicate areas closest to them where they are most likely to find open parking bays. Once a user finds a spot and parks, the Street Parking Solutions marshal then scans in the car’s number plate and initiates a parking session, using their device. When the user returns to their car, the parking session ends and they can pay for their parking using the mobile application, as linked directly to their bankcard. Users can also choose to pay for their parking with cash, and simply select the option to end their parking session and pay the marshal directly. ParkFind also stores parking slips for parking paid for via the app, enabling users to view their parking history. It’s also very useful for plotting routes, as a user can input a specific destination, and ParkFind will automatically create an illustrated view of areas where they’re most likely to find parking.
Team perspectives on ParkFind
This was the first mobile application our team has worked on that utilised clustering. If there are more than a certain amount of ‘pins’ on the map showing the likelihood of parking bay availability, it is grouped so that the user’s screen isn’t overloaded with pins. The “in-field testing” has been super interesting and we’ve already learned so much. Working with Street Parking Solutions and PayGate as the payment gateway provider, has proven to be an incredible experience for our team.
We’re excited about the first phase of the ParkFind application which has just launched, and focuses on Cape Town’s CBD. This will be used as a pilot phase, before rolling out to a larger area in Cape Town or other Street Parking Solution-managed parking areas. The possibilities for ParkFind are infinite right now, as we look ahead to solving parking woes and creating unique solutions for commuters in Cape Town and beyond.
Keen to check it out? Download the ParkFind app via Apple App Store or Google Play.
