Some of us rely on common sense and experience to predict parking challenges. We strategize arrival times, head for favorite streets and do our best to avoid parking hassles. It doesn’t always work. There are things we can’t factor like events we’re not aware of and road work we never heard about. Enter Google Maps. The app already offers directions and real-time traffic data. Now it can give users an idea how hard or easy it will be to park if they’re traveling within the cities included in the app’s coverage.
Those areas include San Francisco, Seattle, Miami, Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego, St. Louis, Tampa, the DC area, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Phoenix, Portland and Sacramento. In other words, a lot of the major cities in the U.S. are covered.
According to engadget.com, the app, which was released earlier in January, uses historical data to offer easy, medium or limited ratings for parking in various areas. So far, they’ve gathered data for a list of the country’s most crowded cities, with others to follow in the future.
I’d like to know how often information is gathered for this app. Because the app uses “historical data,” I am curious about how its accuracy compares to my own estimates when it comes to places I visit frequently. If I’m there twice a week and Google Maps only updates its parking measurements once a month, my information is going to be better. As for places I rarely or never go, this app would be very helpful, especially when I’m traveling.
What could be a great tool for the parking industry is the application of this data to parking prices and parking development. Free research at your fingertips from Google Maps.
Read the article here.
