12 App Design Solutions for Improved Parking Experience
If you’ve ever been stuck in your car for long minutes before getting a parking space, then you’ll understand what it means to have a frustrating parking experience. To give a clearer picture, Americans spend an average of 17 hours a year looking for parking spaces. That’s a load of billable hours down the drain.
No doubt, parking issues are a nightmare that is not going away anytime soon if drastic measures are not taken. Thankfully, parking apps have come to the rescue, providing a solution to the challenge and giving drivers more pleasant parking experiences. What are the app design solutions that ease the way people park? This article tells you all you need to know about parking apps and how they enhance people’s parking experiences.
Parking problems and solutions
Parking problems and solutions have become almost cyclical, with one solution leading to a new set of problems. The problems of parking plaguing cities and urban areas include scarcity of parking spaces, costly parking tariffs and traffic congestion.
Subsequently, stakeholders have attempted to solve this problem with increased curb parking, parking facilities redesign and remote parking with little improvement. Some of these solutions have proven to be unsustainable in the long term.
One thing is constant, though – stakeholders must keep on seeking better ways to fix the recurring problems. While parking apps do not solve all the parking problems of modern society, it sure offers some panacea to the pains of parking.
What is a parking app
Parking apps are basically applications that direct you to available parking spots around a specific location. Imagine not having to waste time driving around your destination looking for a parking spot. Instead, you have prior information about where you can get a space and you drive straight there.
Also, you make payments for your parking spot online and don’t have to waste time on that at the car park. That is what a parking app does for you. Features of a parking app include an on-the-spot interactive parking map, parking facilities’ comparative tools, pay-by-app options and so on. Wayleadr has an efficient mobile app available for Android and iPhone users.
Types of parking apps
There are three types of parking apps. Find them listed below.
Navigation-only apps
These are parking apps designed simply to guide you to free parking spaces, whether on-street or off-street. Navigation-only apps give you real-time info on the availability of parking spots within your destination.
Online booking apps
They are the most popular parking apps out there. These apps help you allocate a parking space close to your destination and book it ahead. Oftentimes, pre-booking comes with discounted rates, letting you save money. Once you book your spot, you get a digital receipt. This receipt will be scanned at the entrance of the parking lot.
Digital valets apps
These apps provide a valet service in which your car is picked up and parked for you, saving you time and inconvenience. When you’re leaving your destination, your car is also brought to you.
Note that one app can provide all the offerings of the three types of apps.
12 app design solutions for improved parking experience
The intervention of parking apps is a great relief to all stakeholders; government, companies, workers, car parking facilities and car owners. Below are 12 ways design solutions improve parking experience.
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Parking spot booking
Time spent looking for a parking spot is saved by the booking feature available on parking apps. With this feature, you can book a spot before setting out. You’re not worried or confused about where to park because you already sorted that out on your app. Parking apps let you maximize your time on more rewarding activities.
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Information on parking availability
There’s nothing as draining as getting to your destination and not finding any parking space in the vicinity. You may end up parking in a very distant location from your destination or going back home. A parking app eliminates this inconvenience. You know beforehand if the parking spots around your destination are taken. This information is priceless as it helps you decide whether to take the bus, train or cancel the trip.
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Reduced traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is one of the major problems of parking in the cities, and a parking app helps to reduce it. When drivers can book their parking spaces in advance, everyone is not on the road at the same time, thereby decongesting the roads. The information drivers get from a parking app helps them plan better, keeping the roads freer.
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Cost-effectiveness
Drivers save money with parking apps. Armed with info about the free spots around their destination, drivers can book cheaper parking spaces. Pre-booking a space before you need it also usually comes with a discount. In addition, billable time wasted looking for a parking spot will be saved.
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Optimal car park management
Everyone wants a better business, and that’s what parking facilities owners get with parking apps. As a result of parking apps, parking facilities are now better managed. Drivers can secure their spots ahead, so parking facilities’ entrances are not overcrowded. This reduces the pressure on car park staff. Tracking free and occupied spaces is also easier with parking apps. Helping them become more efficient.
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Elimination of complicated car park rules
Some parking facilities have complex rules and guidelines that affect smooth parking. Oftentimes, drivers arrive there and engage in arguments over parking guidelines. With a parking app, this problem is eradicated. All the rules and regulations are well-spelled out in the app so drivers can decide whether the rules work for them or not. This saves time and quarrels in car parks.
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Seamless payment
Easy payment is one benefit you get from using a parking app. Once you book your slot, you pay and it is reserved for you. You show your digital receipt or confirmation of payment at the entrance and you drive in. You don’t have to bother about paying at the park.
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Convenience and choice
We all have parking preferences, don’t we? We want to park close to the building or exit. Unfortunately, with the traditional parking system, our preferred spot might be occupied by the time we get there. A parking app gives you control over this. You can pre-book your favorite spot over and over as long as it is available.
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Intuitive and attractive UI/UX design
A parking app provides an interface that’s easy to navigate and this improves the user experience. An improved user experience encourages more people to use apps for their parking issues, leading to more adoption. The more people adopt parking apps, the freer the roads and the better the parking experience drivers have.
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Less fuel consumption
One of the solutions parking app design brings to ensure improved parking experiences for drivers is reduced fuel consumption. People who use parking apps don’t have to drive around finding parking spots. This reduces fuel consumption and saves money.
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Reduced pollution
It has been established that vehicles contribute to pollution in one way or another. Therefore, it makes sense that whatever reduces vehicular movement also reduces pollution. Parking apps reduce vehicle movement by letting drivers book parking spots, eliminating the need to drive around searching for spaces. The environment would be better protected.
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Decreased parking stress
Driving around looking for a free parking space triggers stress hormones. Having to do this continuously makes the situation even worse. With stress comes symptoms like headaches, insomnia, depression, high blood pressure and so on. All these are avoidable with a parking app. It helps you get rid of parking stress and improves your overall health.
Parking apps – a sustainable solution for poor parking experiencesÂ
Getting a parking spot can be quite frustrating, given the way cities and urban areas are growing. While urban development is welcome, what is not welcome is the attendant increased difficulty in getting parking spaces. On the bright side, all hands are on deck as stakeholders try to provide a lasting solution to this unpleasant development.
One such solution is the parking app. With this app, some problems plaguing the parking sector are eradicated while others are reduced. A parking app improves people’s parking experiences by enabling drivers to book their spots, get useful information about parking availability and pay easily.
Other app design solutions that improve parking experience are cost-effectiveness, reduced traffic congestion, enhanced park management, convenience and choice, intuitive UI/UX, less fuel consumption, decreased carbon footprints and reduced parking stress.
Content Strategist, UX Writer and Editor. Witty, he loves personal development and helping people grow. He is fascinated by all things tech.
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