Meet ParKam, an app that tracks and guides you to open parking spots
It's like Waze but for parking lots.
A game changer for the cluster that is city parking.
Some companies have dabbled into the realm of tracking available parking spots, but no one has focused on it so closely like ParKam has. The Israeli startup hopes to transform how drivers find available parking spots the same way Waze made GPS systems interactive.
Except, ParKam doesn't rely on other users -- it relies on already installed security cameras sprinkled throughout parking garages and lots. The company sells its solution to those who operate parking areas, and if they receive a host of benefits on their end. For us, the users, we gain access to an intricate system that shows available parking in an area or specific lot, navigation to the desired or closest parking spot and even real-time tracking to predict which spots will be open by the time a driver arrives.
When ParKam plops you in a parking spot, users can also pay for parking directly through the app. For parking lot operators, it also gives them a way to enforce parking, whether it be a double-parked car, a car that's overstayed its limit or other reasons. The technology can even provide operators insights into undersold areas to create a dynamic pricing map.
If that's not trick enough, the app also extends to street parking. Feeding off of the safe camera systems already in place, the technology can monitor open parking spaces, predict what spots will be open in the near future and give insights into traffic behavior. Any single parking spot receives GPS coordinates that, like any phone navigation app, users simply need to select. The system will navigate you to the spot without a fuss.
Don't go flipping through the iOS App Store or Google Play store just yet though. ParKam is only available in a few countries so far. There's no clear timeline for when we'll see the technology in the US, but it sounds like it's a matter of when, not if.
