Dive Brief:
- SpotAngels, a crowdsourced app that gives drivers information about parking availability and rules, will partner with Las Vegas as part of the city’s curb management program, the company announced Thursday.
- The self-declared "Waze of parking" offers a map with street parking spots, lots and garages, along with rules like street cleaning, no parking hours and the price to park. The app also remembers a parking spot and sends alerts when a meter is running out or parking availability is changing to help drivers avoid tickets and towing.
- For its Las Vegas partnership, SpotAngels is integrating mobile payment and advance booking capabilities.
Dive Insight:
Parking remains a major headache for cities and residents alike, thanks to the congestion and folks circling for open spots. In a statement, Brandy Stanley, parking services manager for Las Vegas, said, "the number one complaint we get from citizens is their inability to find parking.” SpotAngels, Stanley added, “will greatly help our customers make informed decisions.”
SpotAngels, which is active in 14 North American cities, is one of a number of tools that have emerged to take the pain out of parking. SpotHero, the parking reservation service, has partnered with the transit app Moovit to help transit riders park, and the app Arrive has also expanded its parking information in collaboration with companies including Avis and Ticketmaster.
The partnership will also help Las Vegas get a better handle on curb use and management, an increasing problem for cities thanks to dockless vehicles, e-commerce deliveries and ride-hailing vehicles. Many cities lack a digital log of parking rules and curb assets, like fire hydrants, which can make planning difficult. New tools, such as Coord’s Open Curbs platform, seek to help cities get a better handle on their curb rules.
The partnership with SpotAngels represents the latest team-up for Las Vegas, which has sought to use new technology and startups to improve its traffic situation. Earlier this week, the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada expanded a pilot with Nexar’s CityStream to analyze the traffic impact of construction zones, and has worked with the startup WayCare on a program to predict accidents.
