KUALA LUMPUR, December 17 — ParkAide Mobile (M) Sdn Bhd has introduced its ParkAide smartphone app, a ticketless solution to parking said to be first of its kind not only in Malaysia, but possibly the world.
“ParkAide is not just a smartphone application,” said ParkAide’s chief technology officer Jason Soong. “It is an environmentally friendly parking solution employing the convenience and versatility of the smartphone to significantly transform and enhance every driver’s parking experience.
“That’s not all. ParkAide will also transform the business of car park operators and merchants operating from these parking facilities.”
ParkAide also incorporates additional features ranging from advanced booking of parking bays to an emergency SOS feature triggered by deliberate shaking of the phone.
The app is developed in Malaysia in collaboration with Secure Parking Corporation Sdn Bhd, and its features are consequently tailored to meet the needs of Malaysian motorists.
Besides catering to consumer demands, ParkAide was also developed with the needs of car park operators in mind, an essential approach to encourage buy-in from the operators to support the app’s implementation.
For car park operators, ParkAide offers the benefit of zero capital expenditure, is easy to set up, and is eco-friendly. There are no maintenance costs.
Car park operators can also throw in value-added services for their customers such as fleet account management, valet service, and season parking.
The system’s electronic platform allows operators to track the number of available bays and transactions in real time.
Drivers nearby can be guided to their nearest parking lot with available bays.
Merchants can use the app as a promotional platform for their latest promotions, and other benefits on offer.
“ParkAide is the first-of-its-kind app that offers merchants a cost-efficient advertising platform which is customised for modest budgets,” said Soong. “This platform connects merchants to their customers that are already in the building by drawing them to their shops via attractive offers and converts them to sales.
“Merchants also get to endear themselves to their customers by rewarding them.”
ParkAide makes its money through a 10 per cent transaction fee each time a consumer tops up the balance in their accounts.
Credits in accounts show up as tokens, each token worth 1 sen. Users will therefore have to pay RM55.00, for example, to add RM50 (or 5,000 tokens) worth of credit.
Parking operators do not charge extra.
