Parking spaces flexibly bookable in advance

Problem

Finding a space to park your car often takes a great deal of time. It is estimated that a third of urban traffic in the Helsinki metropolitan focuses on looking for parking spaces. Despite this, most parking spaces remain empty for most of the time. For example, companies may reserve 24-hour parking spaces for their employees and some people like to reserve parking spaces in their housing unit just as a precaution if the monthly cost of doing so is sufficiently low. In Helsinki alone, there are three times as many parking spaces as there are cars.

Solution: resource-wise parking spaces that are reserved in advance

Barking and Rent-a-Park provide available parking spaces to those who need them. The owner of a parking space can register their spot with the service, and anyone who needs a space can rent it for the duration that they need it. The checking of the availability, reservation, renting and payment processes are all done via the Rent-a-Park’s online service. With Barking, the reservation, renting and payment processes are all done on a mobile app. Barking’s management system shows the reservation status and parking situation in real time. Additionally, people can outsource their parking space reservation management to Witrafi Oy, which operates Rent-a-Park, with a separate agreement.

Both companies feature parking spaces that are available for rent both in locked and unlocked locations. A user can use Barking’s mobile app to find their destination and open the door or barrier of a locked parking hall, as these locks can be connected to the service as well.

Revenue logic and benefits for Rent-a-Park and Barking

The revenue model of both companies is based on a commission that is included in the rental cost. The online models of both companies make it easy to register and rent parking spaces.

Benefits to customers and end users

Users do not have to waste time searching for parking spaces since they can reserve one in advance online or with a mobile app. This helps to save both time and fuel, reduce emissions, traffic and congestion, as well as increase the habitability of cities. In addition, reserving a spot through a service can be less expensive than paying for a typical parking space. Increased efficiency of parking space use means that fewer new parking spaces need to be built, which releases urban space for other uses.