Picking a Row
If you’re looking for space in the crowded parking lot of a shopping complex or mall, you can go about your search in two ways:
1. You can actively drive up and down all the rows, searching for the spot that’s closest to the door.
2. You can enter a row and use the first vacant spot, no matter how much you might have to walk.
The problem with the first approach is that you spend way too much time looking for a vacancy, and in that time you could have easily walked to the door. Furthermore, eventually when you do park, you still don’t have a guarantee that you’re in the closest spot as it depends on availability.
As such, if you’re concerned about saving time, use the first vacant space you find.
When the Parking Lot is Full
What do you do when there’s no space at all? In that case, most people simply leave and try to find space elsewhere. However, it’s a lot more rewarding if you sit and wait for one of the spaces to be vacated. This approach has a lot stronger chance of success.
According to studies, those who patiently wait for a parking space find one in 8-12 minutes whereas those who simply leave take thrice as long, and sometimes still don’t find a spot.
Parking in Unknown Spaces
Most people park where they’re supposed to park. If you’re going to an office, you’ll park in the official parking spot, and the same goes for malls and other areas. However, if possible, take time to scout the neighborhood. Is there some area, maybe even a little further, that can be used as a parking space? If so, parking there will be a lot more comforting and will keep your car safer, even if you have to walk a little more.
Get TechSavvy and use GetMyParking AppGet My Parking is an app available for Android phones. It allows users to check out real time information on all the parking spots that are available in a particular area.
Users can use it search parking spaces wherever they’re going, and even book them so they don’t have to worry about waiting. Meanwhile, suppliers can list their parking lots and spaces on the apps so that people can pay for them and book them online!
While Get My Parking is one of the leading apps for Smart Parking, there are several others as well such as ParkingRhino and Parkitekt.
So you can see now that there are a lot of different factors you can take into consideration to find the right spot for your car. However, if you simply go and “scout” an area for parking, it’s bound to take you some time to find a spot, no matter how careful you are. As such, it is recommend you go ahead and get savvy with your mobile apps.
And be sure to always carry car insurance because accidents can still occur, regardless of the precautions taken.