Airparking, a shared parking company, starts their business recently. (File Photo)
Parking lot sharing, a solution to ease shortages in Chinese cities, is expected to boom just as online taxi bookings and bike sharing have attracted public attention.
The shared parking business model enables different vehicle owners to share the same parking lot at different times arranged by relevant APPs.
He Yuefeng, general manager of the Shanghai Xiaoma Zhiting Internet of Things Co. Ltd., said: "By unblocking the information obstacles, the parking space-sharing app can help users find parking lots easier, especially at peak times."
A privately-owned parking lot can be rented to others who may otherwise fail to find an appropriate space, while, property management firms can work out a timetable for different cars parked in the same lot at different times, he explained.
In addition to share parking lots, the app will also enable drivers to pay through mobile and locate the cars by remote control.
However, some private parking lot owners are afraid of having their space occupied by drivers who could refuse to leave in due time.
In this regard, He devised a system of extra charges growing with passage of time to compel the occupants to leave.
To realize above mentioned functions, the app requires complicated technological support, He said.
There have been other attempts adopted to alleviate the strain engendered by limited parking resources in big cities.
Cities like Beijing and Wuhan, launched the Sky Parking Garages several years ago in hope of relieving the tension caused by insufficient land resources. However, their efforts were made in vain as the concept has been largely abandoned due to the complex parking procedures and high maintenance costs.
According to National Development and Reform Commission, the ratio of vehicle owners to parking spaces in China's big cities is 0.8, while, in second- and third- tier cities, it's only 0.5. However, in the developed world, the rate is as high as 1.3. The quotients of the parking lots in the Chinese cities imply a shortage of at least 50 million parking berths, falling ever-further behind the growing number of vehicle owners.
