BuzzBites: Parlez-Vous Parking?

Parlez-Vous Parking?

A new service will let cell phone or GPS navigation device users in Paris find out if parking spaces are available at nearby garages. About 120 public garages are participating in the service. The garages are linked by the Internet to a server that monitors for vacancies. Users can access the service through French mobile providers Orange and SFR.

According to the International Herald Tribune, as many as 25 percent of cars in Paris are in search of parking spots at certain times of the day. The service aims to improve traffic flow and assist harried drivers.

So what about a similar service in the United States? One called SpotScout, being tested in Boston, New York and San Francisco, lets parking-garage and parking-space owners connect with drivers looking for a spot. --Andrew Conry-Murray, [email protected]