In large cities it is practically mandatory to park in a regulated area or in a public parking lot. In these cases you will be thinking that you should get a ticket and always pay with cash. But the truth is that now you can do all this process from your iPhone with different applications that you will find in the App Store. In this article we will tell you the main applications to do it.
What to look for in these applications?
There are many applications that you can find in the App Store that allow you to make smart parking. That is, you will forget to go to a parking meter to get the ticket and pay in coins, but you will always have to be very careful. To avoid having problems with these applications, we recommend that you follow the following points to have the best app:
- Interface: any application must have the quality of entering through the eyes. Being attractive is essential so that when using it you do not have any problem looking for an address or knowing how to configure it. That is why applications that are aesthetically clear and simple should always prevail.
- Accuracy and reliability: when using an application of this style we are literally playing a fine. If it does not work correctly and we park in a so-called ‘blue zone’, you will make the payment, but the zone controller may not be able to look up your license plate in the database, or it has simply geolocated you wrong. That is why if an application is of poor quality, you will not be able to use it, since you can play the corresponding penalty for parking without paying the corresponding fee.
- Availability in your area: not all applications are available for all cities. Keep in mind that there are applications that operate in a specific city but not in the one next door. That is why always with these applications you should look for the one that can work in the area where you are going to want to park, since otherwise it will not do you any good.
- Payment security: we are talking about an application where we will have to enter credit card details or other information such as PayPal. That is why applications that have secure payment gateways should always be used. They carry out a special treatment of all sensitive information, encrypting it and not storing it at any time.
Meter-centric applications
Using a parking meter is quite common when living in a big city. Regulated parking is currently quite widespread and forces you to get a ticket every so often. But thanks to certain applications you can get tickets wherever you are continuously without having to go physically to your vehicle again. Here we show you the best applications that exist focused on parking meters.
e-park
With this application you can pay the parking meter remotely wherever you are in more than forty cities in Spain including Madrid and Barcelona. In a simple way you can select the city and by geolocation it will detect the sector in which you are located. So that you do not have problems, you will have to enter all the data of the vehicle such as the license plate so that it is collected in the database.
You will easily see how the tickets that you have active appear to be able to justify parking. You can also have information at all times of how much time you have left on the ticket. In a comfortable way you can decide if you want to renew the ticket by paying a little more without there being any type of limit. In addition, the payment platform is quite secure and guarantees that the transaction is carried out in the best conditions.
Blinkay: smart parking app
An application that is ideal to be able to pay the blue zone from your mobile without having to recharge or always have to be held. The developers promise that in just 10 seconds you can have the parking set up or simply extend it if necessary. You simply have to park in the sector you want within the competition that the application has and start the timer. You should be sure that you will only pay for the specific parking time.
At all times you will have information on how much you have left on your ticket with recurring notices. In this way, with a simple click, you can easily renew the parking lot, and even if you have some kind of complaint, you can easily cancel it from the application. In this way you can completely forget about looking for the parking meter in the middle of the street.
The options more focused on parking
In addition to all these applications that are specially designed for traditional parking meters, it is becoming more and more common to park in underground car parks. These can also be paid with your mobile and you can even reserve a place in the event that it is very crowded. Here we show you the best applications in this regard.
The parking
This is one of the applications that are essential for any type of driver. At first you can pay in blue, green or regulated areas in different cities of Spain looking only for the closest parking you have. But beyond being able to get the ticket from the parking meter with your mobile phone, you will also have a large number of public car parks without having to carry cash to pay for the time you have stayed in it.
In addition, you can also book the ITV appointment, discover nearby gas stations and also look for electrical charging points. This is ideal when you have a car that has this integrated system and you need to have an app to activate all these points. To this must also be added the possibility of paying the toll through Via-T. This will mean you don’t have to worry about queues.
TelPark
Application that allows you to pay and manage parking in regulated areas from your iPhone and without having to carry cash. You will receive expiration alerts at all times and you will also have the option to cancel any complaints you have. This is in addition to the fact of being able to access all the Empark public car parks that are distributed throughout Spain.
You just have to know that the control is carried out through the reading of the license plate through the entrance and exit of the barrier. That is why you should not worry about getting the corresponding ticket at the entrance and then validating it on the machine. Everything will be done from your mobile in a really comfortable way and on top of that you can have interesting discounts in your car parks.
EasyPark
The developers of this application aims to make life in a city easier by facilitating parking. That is why they have developed this application to save money and time by eliminating the stress and hassle associated with parking in urban areas. It is important to note that it is available in 2,200 cities throughout Europe and 50 in Spain itself.
You will be able to register in just 60 seconds, integrating your personal data, your vehicle data and also the payment system. And it is that you will not need to carry money at any time as it is compatible with PayPal, Visa and Mastercard. You will pay only for the time you are parked on the street or in public parking lots. This is because at any time you can stop the session you have started.
Parking meter and Parking Parclick
This is an application that is focused on parking meters and car parks in Madrid and Barcelona, although it can also be found in other cities in Spain. Parking may be carried out in green areas or in any other regulated parking lot in both cities. All this with interesting discounts that can benefit you when parking when you go to travel to these cities.
The operation is quite simple and intuitive. You simply have to allow the application to geolocate you to be aware of the parking area you are in. Then you will see how you can choose the best possible offer. In addition, you will also have hundreds of parking spaces that meet all needs: type of vehicle, access or the existence of recharging points.
Free Parking
This application is presented as easy, fast and safe to pay for parking in the blue, green zone and the entire SER Madrid zone. In this way you will always have the parking meter on your smartphone and without having to carry cash. It is an official application also to pay in other cities in Spain beyond Madrid, such as Barcelona.
If you are going to make a trip you can find a parking in advance with this application. In this way you can have your place reserved for when you arrive and know exactly how much you are going to pay in the event that it is going to be a fairly long parking lot. Payment is made in two simple steps, maintaining security at all times. All this set with different giveaways for customers who use the application daily.
Bip & Drive
The application that every driver will want to have installed on their iPhone because of how complete it is. With this you will be able to access a wide network of car parks, pay the parking meter in regulated parking areas, locate your car after having parked and even pay a discount at gas stations. All this having the centralized payments in the own system that is compatible with different bank cards and other different methods.
In addition, there is the possibility of reserving and paying for the next inspection of the ITV with a discount and finding washing centers. But if you have an electric car you will also have different charging points. Likewise, if you normally go through the tolls, you can also do so thanks to the device of this company to pass through Via-T.
Which one do we recommend
As we have seen, there are many applications that aim to facilitate the fact of paying for regulated parking. But without a doubt we are left with two of them. The first is ElParking, since it is a very complete and intuitive application. It is not limited only to parking meters but also other utilities such as paying for the highways or prior appointments at the ITV station can be found.
The second option is Bip & Drive, which also offers different functions that are ideal for any driver and that they will use on a day-to-day basis. It stands out above all the great discounts that can be found in diesel but also in all car parks. It is an application that is quite standardized throughout the European geography so it becomes an authentic essential for traveling.
