Navigating the world, one parking space at a time

There aren’t enough bad words in the English language to describe how it feels to look for public parking in San Francisco, Los Angeles or New York City.

A recent study by transportation analyst INRIX named those cities among the top five in America with the toughest parking experience. According to the report, we as motorists spend about 17 hours a year searching for spots on streets, in lots or garages. Smartphone parking apps may help. They popped up in app stores a few years ago, allowing you to reserve and pre-purchase your parking spot, often at a discounted rate. Here are a few to try.

PARKING PANDA AND SPOT HERO These partner apps allow you to prebook an hourly spot and offers real-time updates on parking places in more than 40 cities, from Albuquerque to Washington, D.C. Icons let you know whether the garage or lot (including those affiliated with sports leagues and stadiums) is covered or handicapped accessible, and whether it has valet service, electric charging stations or staff on-site. Depending on the neighborhood, hourly rates start as low as $12. They offer airport parking reservations, too. www.parkingpanda.com, spothero.com

PARKER

This app promises no more circling. You can access rates, hours, occupancy and addresses in real time and get voice guidance for nearby parking. Allows you to filter parking by permit type (student, disabled, electric vehicle), remembers your parking location and offers walking directions back to your car. www.theparkerapp.com BEST PARKING

Best Parking, which includes cities in the U.S. and Canada, recently updated its app with new features, including faster search and self-serve receipts for expensing. It also eliminated its $5 reservation fee. Running behind? Cancel your reservation any time up until your parking start time. www.bestparking.com

PARK ME

This app, which is owned by INRIX, works much like the others, but it includes 15,000 cities around the world. (It promises parking assistance on all seven continents, although Antarctica is not really known for its parking issues.) The app also includes a parking timer to help you avoid overstaying, overpaying or — gasp — getting a parking ticket.

— Jessica Yadegaran, Staff