Drivers can reserve parking spaces directly from the app

Google partnered this week with a start-up that finds and reserves parking spaces for drivers directly from Google Search and Google Maps.

Through this collaboration, the American company wants to help drivers find and reserve a parking space.

Startup SpotHero has its origins in the US, so for now the new service will only be available there and in Canada.

A simplified booking process

With this integration, the booking process promises to become simple: users will be able to quickly find a parking space that is close to their destination, which they can later book with a single click on the “Book Online” button directly from the applications Maps or Search.

The system will redirect them to the SpotHero website to complete the booking, all without leaving the Google apps interface.

Moreover, the platform has advanced filtering options, allowing drivers to identify all those places that have facilities for people with disabilities or charging stations for electric vehicles.

The advantages of collaboration

For SpotHero, this integration is a major step, because Google Maps and Search services are used by billions of people around the world.

The company takes a 35% commission from each booking and is approaching the impressive mark of $1.5 billion in processed parking bookings.

The startup is no stranger to strategic partnerships, already having a similar collaboration with Apple Maps for iPhone and Mac users.

For Google, which doesn’t have its own parking booking tool, this integration complements other partnerships.

Limited availability

The availability of the service currently covers 300 cities in the US and Canada, but is limited to more developed urban areas.

Users can make reservations in advance, specifying the desired date and time, which eliminates the stress of finding a parking space at the last minute.

New features added recently

Two of these are displaying destination details as drivers approach it and information about available parking spaces inside or near buildings.

The partnership between Google and SpotHero is an important step towards the future of urban mobility.

It shows us how technology is simplifying the most stressful aspects of driving in busy cities, like finding a parking space that isn’t light years away from where we have work.

Source: Android Authority