Can Your Smart Phone Save You Money?

It can if you live in San Francisco, according to the New York Times. In one of the most ambitious steps towards reducing the parking problem, San Francisco intends to test six thousand metered parking spaces that will, through a wireless sensor, be able to tell drivers which parking spots are available at any given moment. This ambitious undertaking will begin in the fall and is related to the death by stabbing of a nineteen year old named Boris Albinder two years ago; the youth was stabbed over a parking space.

Drivers are wasting exponential amounts of gas all over the country, simply from circling the streets in order to find parking spots. This is particularly true in large, congested cities, such as San Francisco and New York City – though, sadly, plans for a project like the one being tried in California got sacked during the spring by the State Legislature.

Naturally, all of this driving around is also taking its toll on the environment. Ideally, San Francisco’s new parking plans are going to benefit the environment, the economy, and of course on transportation.

Using a wireless sensor network, driver’s in San Francisco will be alerted when there are available parking spots in one of two ways: they will see open parking spaces indicated on street sights, or they can see them simply by looking at maps displayed on their smart phones. It may also be possible for them to pay for their parking with their cell phones and to add money to their parking meters via their wireless devices, which will certainly save time and money spent on parking tickets.

A device known as a “bump,” operated by battery and designed to last for up to ten years without maintenance, will be at the core of this program. Together, they will form a network of wireless signals operated through the Internet; the information will be sent back to parking meters.

This is part of the SFpark program, says the New York Times, which is a $95.5 million dollar plan which aims to clear congestion out of the city’s streets. Part of the improvements include updating street signs in the city, which are incredibly outdated, and extending the amount of time people can park in the evenings, so that residents and visitors will be able to enjoy longer dinners, shows, and other evening activities.

A dozen other large cities are trying to implement programs like this – with the exception of New York City, at least for the moment.

Programs like this cannot be incorporated too soon. People in some parts of the United States are wasting tens of thousands of gallons of gas every year, just by trying to find parking spaces.

(July 15, 2008)