Google Maps could soon help you find a parking space

Google Maps may be about to roll out a feature which helps people find a place to park. Some users of the Google Maps app v9.44 beta have discovered a parking availability system which displays the likelihood of finding a parking space at specific destinations.

Reportedly, the system shows three tiers of availability — Limited, Medium, and Easy — which reflect the current parking situation at a location. The information appears with a “P” symbol next to the estimated time of arrival when searching for directions using the Maps app.

How Google gathers this information isn’t clear, though presumably it integrates with pre-existing systems designed to identify parking availability in major locations — like airports or train stations — meaning it’s unlikely to reveal the available spaces on every street in a city.

When the feature will go live in the main app (if it even will) and the regions in which it will be available, isn’t yet known, though I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s limited to the US in the initial stages of its rollout. We’ll keep our eyes peeled from an announcement from Google.

Have you seen this feature in the beta app yet? Let us know in the comments.