Patent attributes
Systems, methods, and apparatuses for locating parking spaces are disclosed. According to one method, a request is received from a user of a vehicle to locate a space; the location of the user is determined; a database comprising spaces within a geographic region is accessed; from the database, a subset of spaces within the geographic region is identified, the subset comprising user-specific spaces; a determination is made regarding the availability of the user-specific spaces; and if a user-specific space is available, a transmission is initiated, intended for the user, providing the location of at least one available space. The systems, methods, and apparatus may be used to locate free spaces, may allow users to indicate when they are vacating a space to enable other users to access the space via a “park it forward” approach, and may assign available spaces to users based on an equitable prioritization protocol.
