New Google Phone App Helps Drivers Find Open Parking Spots

Trying to find parking should not have to be an energy-draining, spirit-crushing hour of your life that you’ll never get back. Open Spot, a new Android phone application from Google Labs, is designed to help drivers find a parking space way before things things start getting really emotional.

How it works: users who have found parking update the Open Spot map when they leave, alerting other drivers within a 0.9 mile radius that a space is available. Colors are used to indicate how “fresh” the available space is and after twenty minutes, it disappears.

While it’s not completely full-proof (lots of people would have to download and update it to work, parking could be taken despite the app saying it’s available), it’s at least is on the right track to finding a viable solution for the agony of public parking. This won’t be a success unless there’s widespread use so help Google help us – download Open Spot now, give it a whirl and let us know what you think!