Intelligent help for drivers seeking a parking space

PayByPhone’s new parking availability feature is an AI-powered system that indicates the likelihood of available spaces in real-time

Nearly 30% of urban traffic is caused by drivers trying to find a place to park, resulting in unnecessarily congested streets and blocked traffic flow.

To address this issue, PayByPhone, a mobile parking payments provider, has partnered with smart-city technology company Upciti to implement a new parking availability feature, that helps drivers see where they might find an available place to park.

Parking availability is designed to be used in urban areas for pre-planning, with drivers using it just before they set off to see where they are most likely to find parking.

The technology behind the parking availability feature is powered by real-time data from Upciti’s AI sensors. Connected to the lampposts, the sensors analyse kerbside activity resulting in anonymous, aggregated insights. 

The parking availability feature uses a simple, colour-coded map displayed in the PayByPhone app.

• Blue: higher chances of finding an available spot  
• Yellow: moderate chances of finding an available spot  
• Red: lower chances of finding an available spot.

These live indicators provide users with a simple, streamlined experience to get parked.

“This isn’t just a tech upgrade,” says Rebecca Maisey, PayByPhone’s UK commercial director, “It’s a human-centred overhaul of a complex global problem faced daily by millions of drivers – to help make parking simpler, traffic flow more smoothly and mobility more sustainable.

“For cities, this technology has an enormously positive impact: a reduction in endless, unnecessary circling in search of parking, which eases the traffic flow and contributes to less congested streets. It also moves cities toward smarter, more sustainable mobility. For drivers, it makes finding parking significantly smoother.”

TrouveMaPlace in Paris

PayByPhone has implemented the parking availability feature in one of Paris’ most dynamic and complex neighbourhoods: the Batignolles area in the 17th arrondissement. 

Called TrouveMaPlace (FindMySpace), the feature was first introduced late in 2025. Nearly 24,000 drivers used it on their app in the first two weeks after launch. 

Over the last three months, 100,000 unique users have accessed the feature, with 1-in-4 looking at parking availability less than 15 minutes before successfully starting their parking session.

Using Upciti’s sensor network, traffic volumes were measured across every street in the Batignolles neighbourhood. Comparing the period of 5 November 2025 to 10 January 2026 with the same period 12 month’s earlier, Upciti  reports vehicle traffic had decreased by 11.2%.

Geoffroy Boulard, Mayor of the 17th arrondissement and vice-president of the Greater Paris Metropolis in charge of Innovation, says: “Thanks to TrouveMaPlace and OpenBatignolles programme, the 17th arrondissement is becoming a concrete testing ground for smoother, less polluting, and smarter mobility.” 

PayByPhone’s Rebecca Maisey said: “TrouveMaPlace proves how PayByPhone and Upciti have been able to deliver measurable results fast. It’s a story of co-creation, rapid iteration, and scalable innovation in one of the world’s busiest cities.

“The partnership between PayByPhone, Upciti and Paris is a blueprint that could be applied to cities worldwide. We are actively working towards introducing this feature in other countries and cities where we operate to help reduce unnecessary traffic, emissions, and congestion, while allowing drivers to park more easily.”

PayByPhone will be showcasing parking availability at Parkex 2026.