Waze, INRIX to develop smart app that shows best option for available parking spots

Waze announces a partnership with traffic data company INRIX in order to roll out a software application which will send drivers to the best parking spots.

Waze, a popular navigation app that uses Google’s maps and users’ feedback, already offers a feature which helps users find parking spaces in the proximity of their destination. But the partnership with Inrix will make the feature become even smarter.

Inrix is ​​a company that collects traffic data, including information about parking. It has contracts with some of world’s biggest car manufacturers, including Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Porsche, Lexus and Toyota.

So far, a parking spot was only recommended without being known whether is vacant, but by partnering with Inrix, Waze is gonna get a whole set of parking info which will be used for more intelligent recommendations.

First, Waze will know if there are empty places in a parking lot, so no more cases when drivers are sent to a spot only to find out that it is taken.

Second, drivers will also be offered information about parking fees and thus they can choose the most convenient options.

In this way, combining the full set of data provided by Inrix, Waze users will have a clear picture of the parking possibilities before reaching their destination. Hence, they will head for a secure parking place and will know from the outset how much they will pay for it.

Waze has currently over 65 million active monthly users and is used in 185 countries.