Drivers will be able to find out whether a nearby garage is open and has available parking spots.

Parking in Paris? Your phone will tell you where

PARIS, Nov. 19--A service starting next month may help soothe the nerves of harried Parisian drivers: it could help them locate a nearby parking spot using a cell phone or GPS navigation device.

The system will monitor about 120 garages across Paris. Using their cell phones, drivers will be able to find out whether a nearby garage is open and has available parking spots.

If all goes according to plan, drivers prowling for parking will not be the only ones who benefit.

"At certain times of day, 20 to 25 percent of vehicles are in search of a parking space. With this service, we should be able to improve the traffic flow," said Francois Le Vert, a representative of the Federation Nationale des Metiers du Stationnement, an organization of parking garages that helped develop the system.

Eight companies are participating: Orange and SFR, the two leading French mobile networks; Canal TP, Navx and V-Trafic, which specialize in travel and navigation software; consulting firms Setec and Carte Blanche Conseil; and New Technology for Citizens, a group of companies that provides travel services.

Participating parking garages are linked via Internet to a central server, and when the status of a garage changes--open or closed, full or offering a needed spot--it sends a message to the server, which sends updates to the service providers.

At Orange, customers will be able to consult the parking database for free via the Orange World portal on any compatible cell phone. The only charges will be for downloading the data. Orange can find the caller's approximate location by determining which antenna the phone is connecting to, or the user can simply enter an address.

Alexandre Nepveu, Orange's director of marketing for telematic and automobile applications, said the company planned to add a service for cell phones equipped with GPS receivers early next year that will allow drivers to be guided to the nearest available garage much more precisely.

More News Read Here : Parking in Paris? Your phone will tell you where

2006-11-24 06:15:49 GMT

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		Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.

		Drivers will be able to find out whether a nearby garage is open and has available parking spots. Parking in Paris? Your phone will tell you where PARIS, Nov. 19--A service starting next month may help soothe the nerves of harried Parisian drivers: it could help them locate a nearby parking spot using a cell phone or GPS navigation device. The system will monitor about 120 garages across Paris. Using their cell phones, drivers will be able to find out whether a nearby garage is open and has available parking spots. If all goes according to plan, drivers prowling for parking will not be the only ones who benefit. "At certain times of day, 20 to 25 percent of vehicles are in search of a parking space. With this service, we should be able to improve the traffic flow," said Francois Le Vert, a representative of the Federation Nationale des Metiers du Stationnement, an organization of parking garages that helped develop the system. Eight companies are participating: Orange and SFR, the two leading French mobile networks; Canal TP, Navx and V-Trafic, which specialize in travel and navigation software; consulting firms Setec and Carte Blanche Conseil; and New Technology for Citizens, a group of companies that provides travel services. Participating parking garages are linked via Internet to a central server, and when the status of a garage changes--open or closed, full or offering a needed spot--it sends a message to the server, which sends updates to the service providers. At Orange, customers will be able to consult the parking database for free via the Orange World portal on any compatible cell phone. The only charges will be for downloading the data. Orange can find the caller's approximate location by determining which antenna the phone is connecting to, or the user can simply enter an address. Alexandre Nepveu, Orange's director of marketing for telematic and automobile applications, said the company planned to add a service for cell phones equipped with GPS receivers early next year that will allow drivers to be guided to the nearest available garage much more precisely. More News Read Here : Parking in Paris? Your phone will tell you where 2006-11-24 06:15:49 GMT Site Home