[Wanderers]

Voted Yes

This is the ask of our future and sooner we embrace this, better it is. More we use, greater would be the accuracy and reliability of the apps. Remember its we who made Google maps famous and dependable.

Metros like Mumbai, Delhi and others badly needs such apps. I am sure Google would soon have one of these. Currently, it only shows location but not the availability or layout like airport and malls.

[A M]

Voted No.

A "Guidance + reservation" app was launched a couple of months ago in Chandigarh but did not have a successful story due to poor implementation. Link

While the company managing the parking lots, Arya Toll Infra Limited, has blamed poor enforcement for the fading response, residents, on the other hand, say either they fail to open the app, Arya Smart Parking Chandigarh, due to technical glitches or even if they manage to book, they don’t find space.
Chairman of Federation of Sectors Welfare Association of Chandigarh Baljinder Singh Bittu said there have been instances when despite showing the booking to the parking attendants, they denied the residents saying that they can’t refuse others if parking space is available.
”Thus the parking attendants are encouraging haphazard parking. They ask the driver to leave his/her vehicle in neutral and allow it to be parked anywhere in the parking lot. That way, the contractor makes extra money by accommodating vehicles beyond the parking lot’s capacity,” he said.

Only if the whole parking space is fully automated, will this kind of an app work fine and I'll vote Yes. May be FastTag can double up for paying for parking as well.

[maverick.munish]

Voted Yes.

Have been using the ParkWheels parking assistance App and it has a great interface and is coming up with a number of parking slots in Delhi NCR.
The information on the App helps me plan my vehicle preferences based on the availability of space.

Benefits:


A link to the same below:

Parking at your Fingertips
- Find real time availability of parking for your corporate or nearby places
- Book your parking space well in advance
- Get Notifications whenever you enter or leave premise powered by Parkwheels

Seamless Experience
- Get Parkwheels tag and zip in and out of Parking areas with ease
- Integrate your e-wallet and pay parking charges on the go
- No more waiting in queue
- Simple instruction and direction straight to your space



http://www.info.parkwheels.co.in/


https://www.financialexpress.com/ind...arking/728460/

[livetodrive]

Voted Yes..because this is the future. If we are on the verge to embrace driver less cars, then why not smart parking apps which will make our cities smarter?

Attached PDF shows a IoT enabled parking management system based on LoRa (Long Range) wireless technology. Basically using the unlicensed frequency bands (868/915 MHz), a network of sensors are communicating with a gateway to send their status (Parking Full/Empty). Since bandwidth required is very less (Real time data like voice/video will put constraints on the requirement), therefore battery life of the devices and sensors in the parking lot is significantly high.

If the backend application running on the server is robust enough to deal with the ever increasing demand of parking, this will help in much better searching and management of parking lots in future.

[Soumyajit9]

Voted: Yes

Indeed a very useful feature.
Have used "ParkingPanda" app in US and found it extremely useful.

1) Shows parking locations
2) Shows whether these are free or paid
3) Allows me to Pre-Pay for a fixed duration
4) Allows me to Pay at Spot while leaving (if i am unsure about my duration)

Super convenient and gives me multiple options.

So if I choose a free / govt. / municipal parking lot and go there and find it full, I know where to look for the nearest one next.

Yes, there are people who can afford a chauffeur to drop and pick up the "saab" and there are people who feel 100 / 200 bucks for parking is a minuscule amount for the hassles/time, but yes, there are people like me who value any amount, be it 20/50/100.

So Yes, a parking app is useful. Those who are think it is "just another app", probably weigh Time vs Money and somehow Time overrides the Money aspect.
For me I keep Time in hand and save money

[Jeevith]

Voted Yes (For now....will explain) and tipped the scales in favour of 'Yes' (the votes were exactly 50:50 (or rather 41:41) before I voted).




Also, I voted Yes only for now because I don't have a chauffeur yet. The day I find a reliable and trustworthy one, I would stop using the app. But otherwise yea, safe parking is worth paying for.

[highway_star]

Voted yes, but only for #2 Guidance + reservation.

[theapollohelios]

This is actually a very interesting proposition given the market opportunity.

I voted 'Yes', although I'm very specific about the type of parking app I would use. Recently I had been to "Absolut Barbeque" in Bangalore where valet parking option was available, however I drove it to the parking lot myself. Seeing valets aggressive behind the wheel I was happy with my decision.

My ideal service would be guidance+reservation, also in addition I would need an online payment gateway (i.e Paytm, Tezz), a manner to rate & review the parking spot, and a possibility to rent out personal parking space. For example, lots of houses or apartments have empty car parks, either only during working hours or for multiple days. Therefore renting out personal parking spots based on availability where the service provider will charge a percentage also would free up a lot of space on the roads.


Also given the niche market for this business at this time, these services have a long way to go.

Until a scenario where parking apps are as ubiquitous as Uber and finding a parking space is hassle free and inexpensive, if I have to drive somewhere in the city where I know parking would be an issue (i.e car could be scratched or worse), I'll just book a cab.

[Hayek]

Certainly would consider using one, though I am not sure how it will work for street parking. I do plan most of my trips based on parking availability, and tend not to visit restaurants which don’t have nearby or valet parking. I am ok giving my cars to parking valets - worth the risk in my view. At times, I actually park in a reliable slot (eg Atria mall for Worli or CR2 for South Bombay), and then cab it to my final destination. But in most crowded, locations, the challenge is that there is no parking available for love or money. This would probably be most useful for crowded covered parking - but I am not sure how many such locations exist.

[Akshitsi]

My answer would be a 'No' for one simple reason, that of the various car related crimes that have been in the news lately. Last year at a party a valet ran away with a newly bought Audi A4 belonging to a family friend. Forget about the Insurance claims, that's secondary. Imagine the amount of headache and trauma you'd go through when you come back just to find that your car is missing.

That being said, Indians as a community have trust issues, and for good reasons. Whenever I go to a mall/market I prefer to park at a spot which is safe and which I'm sure will not give me any surprises when I return, even if that means I have to walk a few meters more. At places where it becomes necessary to leave the car with the valet I usually tip him extra before handing over the keys just to be sure that the car is in the right hands. This works flawlessly.

Parking apps may work in the future but right now they need some time to win people's heart and be accountable in countries like India.

[NickKohl123]

I have voted NO

In my opinion. It would be very difficult to make this app operational flawlessly at the same time making it convenient for people. This will be a herculean task where population is so huge and 90% of population do not have social responsibility of using public places. No offense to anyone but it will work great where people really have self-discipline, and good driving sense.

Moreover,
In my hometown Nasik - parking is not much of issue. Whenever possible I try to park in designated parking spots, or malls. If place is not available I park where I find parking spot then simply walk, or take auto for last mile

In Pune: it is altogether different story, I try to take bike if I am going to old city. And if I have to take car then I check feasibility of using ola/uber/auto (all these services are pretty unreliable and mainly depend on location you are visiting - especially in pune) as option for entire trip or as a last mile connectivity. But overall I avoid altogether going in crowded places and try to find another option whenever possible.

But yes both these cities are relatably much kind to public in regards with this issue.

Another big reason for saying NO is even though I book parking in app - in India where law and order is not very strong - I do not have assurance of having my spot. People doing double parallel parking, and not parking properly is another issue as well.

So in my opinion it is purely based on how well things get executed on ground.

[tantricindian]

With the advent of Smart Cities in India, a parking app in the future will be of momentous help. Benefits to a consumer would be,

• Finding vacant Parking
• Way finding
• online payments by Credit card, Debit card, NFC etc

Each smart city is in the process of tendering for or has tendered for Smart Parking where there will be sensors embedded in each and every parking slot, may it be On Street, Off Street or MLCP. This will greatly assist in finding parking availability where these assets are located. Some cities are also toying with reserved parking where they plan on keeping a small percentage of the total number of slots available for reserved parking. This will of course be at a premium. The city will have to amend their parking policy to levy huge fines, say 10X, for unauthorized parking in a reserved parking slot. There will be digital VMS signs stating "this parking is reserved for Vehicle No. XX". Hence this value add is only possible with a Parking App. The only drawback about such apps is that they are localised, I.E Parkwheelz is basically Delhi and NCR.

Unfortunately each Smart City has their own app which features their various modules so the app cannot be used seamlessly through India nor within each Smart City.

Being in the Smart Parking arena I can only say with conviction that the future is a Parking App. The only hitch is seamless connectivity between each city, till the Central Government comes up with a common app for Parking.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by GTO

Wherever I go, I tip the valet / security 50 - 100 bucks (depending on place) and he empties the best spot right in front of the entrance. This has always worked. Would rather pay 50 - 100 bucks for safe parking instead of coming back to a dent or scratch that is going to give me a headache and cause thousands to fix.

This throws the parking apps out of the window.

Had gone to 'Swati' for a family lunch yesterday. As anyone from Bombay would know, the place is incredibly popular & always packed. Forget double parking - customer cars were triple parked!

One tip to the valet and a spot was made available for me in 60 seconds. No parking app can match this convenience. Plus, because of the tip, valets usually keep a watchful eye on my car:

[Thad E Ginathom]

I voted no.

There are parts of Chennai, such as George Town or Parry's area where driving around is sure to scar car and nerves and parking, unless arriving very early, is simply... impossible. I take an auto. An auto driver can navigate and negotiate the small streets, and help with whatever is being purchased there. If it is a just-window-shopping trip to such an area, then Ola auto there and another back.

Most of my Chennai destinations have street parking available. For the more congested areas, the traffic density is the con, but the laziness of local drivers is the pro . Whilst they are all fighting to park within a few paces of their favourite shop, those of us who are prepared to walk for just five minutes can easily find street parking.

I can't afford and don't want a full-time driver, which is another solution --- but I wish I had a known and trusted guy[ess] for occasional days.

I've never, so far, used Google Maps to locate parking in this city. I can imagine an app being useful in places where number of spaces available could be communicated, then it would be an integrated system. Probably, in fact, Google would get there before any independent app. If they haven't already?

[TravelIKON]

Chennai Corporation has come up with one such app:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...le29694753.ece

Seems good. Will have to wait and watch how people respond to it.