Google Maps Enhances Parking Reminder App

Parking can be a serious issue in many congested urban metropolises. Remembering where you have parked is an even bigger issue, especially when you need to get from point A to point B in a hurry and really do not have time to search for your car.

This is where Alphabet Inc.’s latest update to its Google Maps app for Android smartphones comes in. Now, it is possible for smartphone users to manually save their parking spot location. This allows for greater accuracy than automated tagging.

All motorists have to do is tap a blue dot on their phone after parking to pinpoint and save their vehicle’s location. In earlier versions of the app, it automatically detected when a vehicle had stopped and saved the location of the car. However, this led to many complaints that the system was not accurate. It worked well in areas that were not congested, but when it came to multi-storey car parks, the location could even be off by a few blocks and the parking reminder was of no use.

The new app makes it possible for the user to add notes like “parked in the row in front of the entrance to the mall behind a green pickup” and even add photos to the reminder. Another useful feature of the app that users also can input parking meter information and get alerts when their time is about to expire, thus avoiding parking fines.