As a driver, I feel quite lost. I’ve just passed my driving licence exam, which means I’m new and inexperienced. I’m living in a huge metropolitan area, populated by more than two million people and most of them have cars. And then there’s someone like me – scared to death, trying to survive in this urban jungle…
No matter if you’re a beginner like me, or driver as great as Niki Lauda, you have to admit that driving isn’t easy, especially when you travelling through an unknown city. Luckily, there was someone genius enough to help “lost drivers” through navigation apps. But finding a good place to park, well – that’s another story. Fortunately, parking apps were created that allow people to make a reservation in a parking lot.
No matter if you’re a beginner like me, or driver so great as Niki Lauda, you have to admit that driving is not so easy, especially when you travelling through unknown city. Luckily, there was someone genius enough who helped “lost drivers” by navigation apps. But finding a good place to park, well – that’s something completely different. Fortunately, there was someone clever who invented parking apps which allows people to make a reservation on a parking lot.
Let’s be honest. Nowadays, smartphones are everywhere: in our houses, companies and in our heads. We depend on them. We got used to them very quickly and we use them all the time to try make our lives easier, better and more convenient. Still, I remember those days when phones were just for calling and sending text messages… Yeah, I’m that old!
So, it’s not surprising that since we’ve learned how to use GPS and navigations apps to get somewhere, the next logical step would be looking for a place to park on our cell phones. Streets in cities are very crowded and it likely to continue being that way – there’ll for sure be more and more cars. And being such a fresh driver with extremely high car insurance makes me very cautious during the complicated (don’t judge me!) parking process. Yeah, I’m scared I might hit another car, so I’d rather choose a parking lot than very beautiful but narrow alleys and bystreets. I’d like to leave them for better drivers than myself.
So what am I getting at? An application called “NaviParking”. This clever invention is available on every smartphone – both Android and Apple. Just visit their site, naviparkingapp.pl, to find out what it’s all about. Thanks to cooperation with other applications, we can easily find a list of parking lots. It’s essential when you’re be in Krakow that you don’t see a list of Warsaw’s parking spaces but only those which are nearby. The list of available parking spaces also shows us some other important features: price (or better yet “free”), the distance or how many spaces are available. Moreover, NaviParking will show us the address, street view, opening hours and other important details (guarded car park or not). This application allows us to make a reservation (e.g. in Amsterdam) and quite soon we will be able to pay for the parking spot as well.
So, I had an important meeting in the city center yesterday. Outstanding high heels (I won’t be able to walk again, by the way), new haircut and you know, I just COULDN’T be late! So, I made a reservation and happily arrived at the parking space. There was no red carpet, paparazzi or journalist, but there was no nervous running around and desperately looking for a parking space either. What a relief.
It’s clear that I’m a fan of the NaviParking app. This Polish project with a young team and very experienced leaders is doing their best to spread the idea of NaviParking in Europe. Right now we can use this application mostly in Poland (cities like Warsaw, Krakow, Silesia and Polish airports) and abroad: Luxemburg and Amsterdam. So, with assurance that I can find the best spot for me, I choose the NaviParking icon and press it. Beware. I’m coming.
