Why it matters to you
This kind of integration may point the way toward a much more seamless driving experience.
Driving in a big city already requires all the patience you have, so naturally, you don’t have the energy to deal with finding a parking space. Thankfully, now you don’t have to, as Parkmobile has partnered with BMW to create an integrated solution that lets drivers find, pay for, renew, and yes, even reserve parking spaces. Previously available only as an app, Parkmobile is now featured in new BMW vehicle lines, leveraging these cars’ navigation and GPS systems to find parking.
Heralded as “the industry’s first automated on-street and off-street reservations parking” system, Parkmobile-enabled BMW cars will prompt drivers to find space through their dashboard screens. This seamless process will not require either opening up the app on a smartphone (because none of us use our phones while we drive, right?) or paying a physical meter. Rather, all can be handled directly from their in-car screens.
The new system will work very similarly to the existing app, as vehicles will prepopulate parking options based on GPS coordinates, which allows for one-touch parking. Moreover, drivers can preselect the amount of time they’d like to purchase, and manage and extend their parking sessions using the Parkmobile app.
“We are extremely proud to partner with BMW to deliver this tremendous innovation in the automotive and parking industries alike,” said Jon Ziglar, Parkmobile’s CEO. “By embedding real-time parking payment and advanced reservations capabilities into the automobile itself, we complete the circle of delivering a truly seamless parking experience for drivers in any parking scenario, whether it be on-street, off-street, real-time, or in advance. Furthermore, this is a significant step in paving the way for autonomous vehicles of the future to control and manage the end of their journey unassisted.”
So if you’re tired of adding time to your already long trip just for the sake of parking, a new BMW may be the solution.