The city of Los Angeles and Streetline jointly unveiled Parker iPhone app, which is reportedly the first application that gives drivers real-time parking information and a fast way to find open metered parking spaces and nearby garages.
Here’s how it works (from the press release):
The Parker for iPhone App features a simple interface that gives users an instant, location-based map pinpointing the city blocks with the most available parking spaces. Users can see which blocks have: more than four, more than two or less two spots; as well as blocks with “rock star” parking – the areas closest with the most open spaces. The app also delivers information about parking space time limits, pricing, and whether meters take credit cards or coins. It also will direct drivers to the nearest City parking garages as an alternative to street parking.
In the backend, Streetline’s patented smart parking platform detects the presence of a car through a network of ultra-low power wireless sensors located in each parking space. This information is then transmitted back to smartphones giving drivers a live, accurate picture of open parking spaces across the city.
Parker initially covers the areas in and around Hollywood, but I’ve no doubts it will be expanded to other places in the near future. The price is $1.99 and you can download the app from a link below.
Parker ($1.99) [iTunes link]