BMW iPark Seeks to Curb Street Parking Woes

BMW has teamed up with Inrix to ease parking headaches. The German-based automaker has unveiled iPark, an in-car technology development that leverages data to help drivers make parking decisions. This effort on the part of BMW is meant to ease the parking stress that everyday drivers right through the BMW navigation system. This innovation is another step towards self-driving cars, at least according to Bryan Mistele, President and CEO, INRIX, Inc.  In a press release, Mistele said, “As we continue to connect cars to smarter cities, INRIX On-Street Parking fills a critical gap that addresses the growing challenge of traffic and parking in our cities worldwide. And looking ahead to a time when autonomous cars are a reality, this service enables vehicles that drive themselves to park themselves now as well.”

Intrix is a data company that specializes in parking information. Through the use of probe vehicles, fleet vehicles, available parking garaged data and its mobile app; Intrix is able to gain a picture of the traffic flow on a given street. The system is intended to help those drivers who use the app find the on street parking that they want faster. A press release from Intrix noted that if drivers didn’t have to circle the blocks of large cities looking for parking, it would reduce traffic in those areas by up to 30%. The release further stated, ” an analysis by Frost & Sullivan found that drivers waste an average of 55 hours per year searching for parking costing consumers and local economies nearly $600M in wasted time and fuel.”

The user experience takes place much like a modern day traffic report. A red, yellow or green coding will tell the driver how likely they will be to find a free spot. The Mistele told CNET that the system is reportedly 80% accurate “in determining if street parking is available. They used the data aggregation mentioned earlier as well as historical parking data. The data display will also include parking restrictions as well as parking prices in much as they are known.

For dealers, consumers who live in large cities or visit them frequently could make excellent use of this parking feature. The ability to find out about traffic is considered a must for commuters, could this feature prove the same value to the next generation of drivers? But what do you think, will street parking data become more readily available or is this feature one that drivers won’t be as interested in?