AppyParking

Inspiration

London's streets are cluttered with arcane parking restrictions; some streets sit empty while others are clogged with cars looking for a space. The solution was seemingly obvious; to create an app that overlaid parking data onto a map.

During the process of created a successful award winning parking app for London we learned that there is a multitude of different restrictions all with different requirements, use by different apps and managed by different authority bodies. In order to be able to expand our app domestically and internationally we created a standardised data set for parking which we named The Parking Platform.

What it does

With The Parking Platform we have built the world’s first and most comprehensive standardised data set for parking which brings together ALL the key elements of city parking into one system to provide a uniquely holistic view of the parking world. This can then be used by our app, website, and consumed by third parties via an API to disseminate information in a user friendly format.

This detailed data-set powers our free app and website, benefiting motorists greatly by allowing them to make informed decisions about where they can park before they set off on a journey or while on the move. So far we have mapped every zone in Greater London and are embarking on our national launch with 15 major UK cities on the 15th September.

We have been collaborating with councils and strategic companies, and have been recognised by industry leaders to develop a fully integrated solution which brings real measurable benefits to cities. Statistics show that city centre drivers spend on average 20 minutes trying to find a parking space, this wasted time and money for motorist’s increases pollution and congestion for everyone in our cities.

How we built it

Unfortunately, while municipal data for services like public transport is freely available for developers to use, there isn't any such one-stop shop for parking information. To start with Dan was going out on the streets, looking on Google Street View, manually compiling a centralised database of parking data. Enric, CTO and co-founder, joined in and developed an app we called Yellow Line Parking which we drew all these zones into.

This is how we created the AppyParking beta. To build on this and create The Parking Platform we brought together expert programmers and developers familiar with Content Management Systems, structuring data sets and parking. From this we found a way to format a standardised data set for parking which can absorb all kinds of parking data formats and release via a single API.

Challenges we ran into

Often parking regulations where managed in out dated processes such as old maps with dust on them or PDFs buried within the archives of the parking website. This created a very labour intensive process to establish our own digitalised parking platform which could bring together the multitude of different restrictions that are used. During the process of integrating all these variances into a single content management system we found several edge cases. These special cases required a rigorous tailoring of the Parking Platform to create the fully comprehensive system.

Accomplishments that we’re proud of

Since launch, AppyParking has become the most popular parking app in London with over 100,000 downloads of our 5 star rated beta app. AppyParking has also been featured across a variety of media outlets. Some of which include Stuff Magazine, The Evening Standard, Metro, GQ, Wired, The Sunday Times, Skype, The Next Web and Zipcar. Recent awards include the Virgin Business Pitch to Rich People’s Choice Award 2015, winning £50,000 marketing spend, Stuff Magazine Gadget Award 2014, finalist of the British Parking Awards in 2014, and first prize winner in the 2014 Ford Motors Traffic Tamer App Challenge, gaining further recognition for our solution.

Current trials with councils and technology providers include Westminster City Council, Camden Council, Bratislava City Council, IBM, Ford Motors, Vodafone and Visa. Recently we completed a successful trial with Pimlico Plumbers, in partnership with Vodafone and Westminster council, and are in plans to deploy our solution across the Pimlico Plumber fleet. We have also had our solution integrated with 5,000 BT Openreach vehicles. In January, Ford Motors announced us as partners during the Las Vegas CES, endorsing our product and giving access to expertise that will allow us to change the way drivers park forever. We have recently just graduated the prestigious London Microsoft Venture Accelerator program, for which we were of a handful of start-ups that where selected last year.

What’s next for The Parking Platform

The Parking Platform can be used in any country to digest on and off-street parking information, create maps to embed on council websites, and let motorists access the information on smart phones at any time. We are on a mission to take AppyParking global, and have already been in talks to trial our solution in strategic cities across Europe.

Real time availability using the latest road sensors to provide a live picture of available city parking to motorists is already set to begin a trial phase later this year. Using this infrastructure we will then be able to integrate with our “One Click Parking” solution, enabling drivers to pay for parking via their mobile phone in one click, and only pay for the minutes parked. Parking payments stop the minute the car is driven out of a paid bay and the system automatically emails a receipt to the driver’s phone.

Further advancement of our partnerships with Ford Motors and Vodafone will allow us to implement zero-click payment, live traffic and parking updates and additional features such as checking the maintenance of car parts (such as wheels or battery) and fuel levels and then to direct drivers to the nearest and cheapest petrol stations. Using high level data throughout The Parking Platform, website, and app, we will soon be able to connect to in-car satellite navigation systems opening up a host of opportunities to drivers, car manufacturers and smart cities to create truly connected cities. The future of connected cars, unassisted parking, and automated driving is almost here, and AppyParking will be a fundamental part of making that future a reality.

Built With

• android
• api
• apple
• data
• geojson
• ios
• mobile
• objective-c
• xcode