A New App Allows People in S’pore to Reserve Parking Lots Like How People Book Restaurant Slots

‘Choping’ a table at a coffee shop is pretty simple. You take out that dusty, two-year-old packet of tissues and smack it atop the table. Everyone will then magically avoid the table as if it were occupied by human-sized cockroaches.

The same, unfortunately, can’t be done for parking lots.

As every driver knows, finding a parking lot instantly at a popular mall or eatery isn’t exactly easy.

You typically have to wait 10 to 15 minutes for a lot, which is time you’ll never get back.

Fortunately, there may now be a solution to this problem.

A New App Allows People in S’pore to Reserve Parking Lots Like How People Book Restaurant Slots

Enter SureReserve, an app that will let you ‘chope’ parking lots before you arrive at your destination so you don’t have to wait for one!

Co-founded by Suchet Bhasin and Neil Meht in 2014, the app aims to give users “the power to park” with a few taps of their thumbs.

According to Vulcan Post, the duo previously developed a solution that involves parking sensors to identify available lots.

Now, they’re hoping to smoothen the parking process.

“In this digital age where one can book a taxi and reserve a dining table via an app, no such app or service existed for ‘chope-ing’ a parking lot”, Neil explained.

“Drivers must still navigate large and crowded carparks trying to find a vacant lot.”

So, how will this app work?

Three Simple Steps

Once you’ve downloaded the app, there are three simple steps you have to follow.

You first have to open the app and choose the car park you wish to park at.

Next, you’ll have to reserve a spot and indicate the date and time of your visit. Once you do so, SureReserve will activate a “park lock”, or an automated barrier in the carpark which will prevent any car from entering the reserved lot.

Then, once you arrive at the reserved lot, you can unlock the park lock via the app.

“The park lock will then automatically recline flat against the surface of the parking lot, enabling the driver to drive in and park,” Neil explained.

Neil added that customers can make an advance booking via the app or “chope” the lot immediately if they are nearby or already in the carpark.

As of now, SureReserve is deploying its service in a “small percentage of lots” that are located near lift lobbies.

But, of course, nothing comes for free.

There will be a “nominal booking fee” for users, but no service fees.

Knowing Singaporeans, once this app becomes more widespread, all the lots in the country will be reserved before anyone even leaves their house.

Image: Phuong D. Nguyen / Shutterstock.com