Parking assistance application Parking Panda is rolling out to Canada, giving Toronto vehicle owners easier control over parking with reservations, payments, price comparison and location search options, alluding to a prominent future for mobile and parking assistance.

Drivers in downtown Toronto will now be able to use the Parking Panda app to find the cheapest parking and reserving spots for a more convenient experience. The app is coming to Canada in partnership with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for the first time after seeing success in the US market, meaning the strategy has a real potential for mainstream adoption.

“Mobile technology provides unique insight into a consumer’s exact location,” said Shuli Lowy, director of customer success, Americas at TVTY. “Astute brands leverage that data to provide a better user experience.”

Toronto parking
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment is making it easier for visitors parking in the area by partnering with Parking Panda. The app allows users to find parking as low as five dollars for one hour.

Drivers can also view all parking in the area on an interactive map and reserve a space of interest. To reserve a spot, users select the space they want and must prepay through mobile payment integration.

The app also has a scanning feature that allows users to scan in and out of locations for parking. Users who have prepaid parking spots will receive a mobile parking pass within the app to access their space.

Event attendees can use the app to park on game day for six dollars and also book spaces in various places in Toronto such as the CN Tower, Harbourfront Centre, the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the Rogers Centre.

Cities with mobile parking
Similarly, the city of St. Paul, MN, was another metropolis to streamline the parking experience via mobile, allowing residents and visitors to remotely pay for metered parking using a new smartphone application (see more).

Parking technology manufacturer Cale also eased customers’ payment experience with the introduction of Apple Pay into its terminals, suggesting a possible shift in non-merchandise based payments (see more).

“That user experience has become a key component for all on demand services that encourage an out-of-app purchase,” Ms. Lowy said. “Panda Parking weaves in browsable maps and strategic partnerships with live entertainment providers to provide the crisp contextual relevance that users look for.”