App aims to ease parking woes in Regina
Offstreet Parking allows parking spot owners to sell their spaces
An app has been designed to make it easier to find a parking spot in busy city centre areas, such as that surrounding Regina General Hospital.
Offstreet Parking was inspired by shared economy services such as Airbnb and Uber. The app is still being developed but users can sign up for a beta version on the website.
Co-creator Kyle Smyth said businesses, community organizations and residents had approached he and co-creator Matt Fahlman about empty parking spots that are available.
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Rather than deal with the city and parking tickets, users will deal with the owner of the spot directly.
"If you forget to pay ... we'll basically charge you a reasonable day rate for that spot," Smyth said. "If your overstay or your lack of payment impacts another driver ... we'll basically have you pay it forward for that driver."
The owner of the spot will get the majority of the fee charged — possibly 75 per cent — the rest will go to cover tax, administration costs and transaction fees. Current beta pricing has the spots around General Hospital at $5 a day.
The actual price is to be determined.
Smyth said the app development is ongoing and people are still needed to get involved in the trial run. People can sign up online.
With files from Joelle Seal