Today I finished my first Android application, it’s called “Meter Maid” and basically takes away the hassle of texting zone codes and license plate numbers when using SMS (text) parking in a paid parking zone. It saves time, effort and prevents human errors (read: parking tickets!).
The application has been submitted to the Amsterdam Android Devcamp Challenge 2009.
Watch the video for a demo (Dutch language warning).
When you arrive at your destination, fill in the zone code and press the ‘start parking button’. If you’ve already parked at this destination before then you can select the zone code from the bookmark menu. When you are leaving all you need to do is press the ‘stop parking’ button.
A user of this application needs to have a subscription with one of the supported text parking companies (currently ‘SMSParking’, ‘ParkMobile’ and ‘Park-Line’ – all Dutch companies). These companies will bill you weekly or monthly.
There’s room for improvements and more innovations. I plan on releasing an English locale and support for English text parking companies, as text parking is also widely used in the UK.