Software may be solution to urban parking woes

Getting caught out by a parking warden when a meeting runs longer than expected could be a thing of the past if Hamish Dobbie gets his way.

The Auckland entrepreneur’s software business, Dobsol, has developed a text parking system, RentaPark, that does not require a parking machine.

Drivers who park in a spot that offers the service text a code, and sometimes their registration plate, to the system’s number. That information is relayed to the carpark owner, who then knows who has paid for which parks and for what amount of time.

Dobbie has talked to councils, carpark operators and universities interested in using the system.

He said several councils had expressed interest but for some it was another option to offer rather than a replacement for existing machines.

The system would run on the existing txt-a-park platform that operates through parking machines.

Dobbie said users would use it in the same way.

The cost of parking would be either added to their phone bill or deducted from their prepaid balance.

The only difference would be they would not need a printed ticket from a machine.

Cloud-based software would collate information for carpark owners, so they could monitor which cars were parked illegally. The software could be accessed on smartphones or on their existing devices or through a website.

When the parking paid for was about to run out, the owners of the cars would get a warning text.

They could opt to renew the parking for another term, or not.

— APN News & Media