Are you planning to develop a parking finder app but still aren’t sure about the know-how? You have landed on the perfect page. This blog will give answers to most of the major queries you would be having. In this blog, you will find out :
How is the Canadian parking industry fairing in the market
Which are the major players in this sector
What are the basic features of a car parking app
What are the recommended features you should integrate
How much does it cost to build a parking spot app

“I will reach there in about an hour”

“Why? The venue is only 30 minutes from your place”

“I know, but it would 30 more to find a parking spot”

“Don’t worry! I will book a spot with my ‘find a parking spot app’ ”

With an increase in the number of motor registrations every year, the streets are getting flooded by more and more vehicles. Moreover, finding a parking space has become a whole other task altogether.

There are a lot of public parking spaces but it is difficult to spot a place there. Parking spaces are owned by the public as well as private sectors and has become a flourishing business.

In fact, the parking industry in Canada has been showing steady growth for the past 5 years. You can see yourself from the stats below.

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The Growing Canadian Parking Industry

Toronto Parking Authority, Indigo Group SAS and SP Plus Corporation companies hold the largest market share in the Parking Lots & Garages industry in Canada.
The parking industry revenue is set to reach $412 million by the end of 2019. This comes after the industry shows a steady growth of 2% over a period of 5 years (2014-2019).
Market Research Future reported that the global parking management market is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 12% between 2017 to 2023, amounting to $7 Billion.

Source: Market Future Research

Country-wise speaking, North America is estimated to possess the largest share of the market, followed by Asia-Pacific which is predicted to grow at a faster pace.
The industry has employed over 4,323 personnel in these five years in Canada alone.

With this growing industry and an increasing number of vehicles, it is an ideal time to venture for car parking finder mobile app development. Before you get into the competition, take a look at the apps that you are going to compete with.

Best Parking Apps in Canada

These are the leading players in the Canadian market.

SpotHero
ParkWhiz
Rover
Honk
Passport Parking

Let’s now get to the main details and see how to create an app for finding parking spots.

How to Build a Car Parking Finder App

An advanced feature set makes up a complete app. However, a parking spot finder app is not just one app but actually made up of three panels.

User panel
Parking officer’s app
Admin panel

Let’s take a look at the basic features of these three.

Features of Parking App for End-users

Register: This is the foremost screen that the user sees on the parking spot finder app. Users need to sign up with their verified social network or email account and phone number.
Parking spot details: The user can view the details of the parking spot like Parking Spot image, address (view location on map), parking lot number, parking type (i.e. parked, gated, outdoor), vehicle type (which can be parked here, based on space of parking), and hourly rate of Parking Spot
Schedule booking: Users need to set the arrival and departure time in the app for parking spot finder. These details are used to get optimized parking places within the stipulated time frame. The users can then book a spot according to their convenience.
Payment integration: This feature is in every car parking app to make it easier for users to pay the parking charges. Payment gateways are integrated into the app. Card details can also be saved for fast and secure transactions.
Manage parking history: This feature lets the users manage the parking history. They can see all the parking spots where they had parked their car. They can check the locations at which their vehicles were parked frequently.
Ratings and reviews: This is a feedback feature that lets the user post their rating and reviews for the services they have received. This feedback can be used to enhance the customer experience.

Features of Parking Officer’s App

Login: The parking officer will need to log in to the app after registration and getting verified by the admin. Email ID and phone number can be used to log in.
List of Bookings: Parking officers can look for bookings for a specific parking lot. They can view nearby parking locations and then can click on any to see bookings of parking lots with the number and car details over there.
Notifications: The parking officer can receive notifications from the admin regarding any instructions or schemes. They also get notified about the users’ complaints or reported help.

Admin Panel (Desktop Panel)

Manage bookings: The admin can manage all the bookings and reports. He can see the location of request, parking charges of each spot, driver information to keep a track of the working of the app.
User management: The admin manages all the users and their information. The activities of all the users, whether the end-user or parking officer, attuned to the app are monitored by the admin.
Manage earnings: The admin also manages all the earnings received from the parking charges. All the in-app purchases, subscription packages, and online transactions are managed by the admin.
Manage parking spots: The admin add new parking spots and view details of the registered parking spots. He can also edit, activate, deactivate, reactivate and delete parking spots as per need.

Recommended Features From Our App Consultant

If you build a regular app with basic features, it will be good to go. But, if you want your app to compete well in the car parking marketplace then you should integrate some unique features. Here are some of the recommended some features by our app consultant.

Subscription: If a user parks at the same place frequently, you should include a feature of a weekly or monthly subscription in your app to find parking space. This way the user won’t have to look for space every day and the parking lot will earn constantly.
Lease my space: Suppose a user has a parking space that he doesn’t use much and it usually stays empty. The user can register his space as a parking spot using this feature and earn a little on the side by leasing it. This app can act like Airbnb for parking with such a feature.
Map view: When a user searches for a spot on this parking space app, he gets a list and details. To make it more convenient, you can add a map view so the users can easily locate the spot.

How Much Does it Cost to Build a Parking App?

The cost to develop a parking finder app depends on mainly three segments-

Per hour rate of the developer, per hour rate of designer and the total time to build the app.

This per-hour cost depends on the mobile app development company, location, as well as the complexity of the app. We can get an approximate cost using the following formula.

Development cost per hour * Total time taken to develop = Total cost of development

Suppose a company charges $30 per hour and total time taken to build the app is 650 hours then the total cost of parking finding app development would be $30*650= $19500

The estimated cost to build a parking finder app will be in the range of $13000 to $18000.

The Final Say

When you plan to create the best parking finder app, you need to partner with different facilities in your target regions to provide users with tons of parking options and premium rates.

There are a lot of other factors to be considered while developing an app to find parking spots. If you have any doubts or queries regarding the app development cost, timeline or process, you can contact us.

We are a premier software, app and web development company in Canada. We are known for our advanced apps with user-friendly UI/UX designs. If you wish to cross-verify your idea with us, we are happy to help.

You can share your ideas and expectations in a completely confidential manner. Don’t forget to ask for a 30-min free consultation with our expert. To get in touch with us, just fill up the contact form in the footer and one of our sales representatives will get in touch with you within 2 working days.