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Dutch transport app, Gaiyo was launched in 2020 by Innovactory – a company that develops smart technological solutions for mobility. In a recent development, the company has announced that it is now the first transport app to offer free parking in the Netherlands, with the launch of Gaiyo street parking.

Currently, there are many parking apps on offer in the Netherlands including Amber, ConnectCar, Greenwheels, MyWheels, and Sixt Share, among others. However, the differences in price and service offered have been small so far. And this is where Gaiyo wants to make its mark.

Free parking app

Gaiyo charges no transaction or subscription fees for parking actions, and offers useful additional transport functions. The all-in-one transport app lets users plan their route, provide traffic jam overview, helps buy a train ticket via the app, or even book a shared transport.

According to the company, the ability to pay for street parking in the app was bound to happen. Its street parking widget can be used throughout the Netherlands.

The Gaiyo’s street parking feature provides additional mobility features than that of a regular parking app. For example, if you need to be in the city centre of Amsterdam and do not want to pay €7.50 an hour for parking, Gaiyo app helps you with ‘Park and Ride’ as your intermediate destination and as well as helps you book your onward transport (such as public transport, shared bicycle, or scooter) within the app itself.

‘Park and Ride’ or P+R can be translated as parking your private car and then boarding public transport. For instance, customers can park their car at the entrance to the city and continue their journey by public transport.

In addition, once you are done with parking action and want to know if there is any traffic on the highways, Gaiyo shows the relevant traffic information, including any delays you may have to your next destination.

Parking overview

With an aim to make mobility as accessible and flexible as possible, the new street parking function also includes lots of handy gadgets. For instance, based on your location, Gaiyo can scan for parking garages, P+R’s, and parking zones available within the area. The app shows all parking options, with the corresponding rates. This can help you easily compare and choose where you can park your car. If you choose the map view of the parking function, you can also see in which areas you can park for free.

The Gaiyo app also helps you save on parking. Other parking apps like Parkmobile, YellowBrick, Flitsmeister, etc. all charge an average of €0.30 per parking transaction. At Gaiyo you don’t pay any transaction costs. Besides, adding license plates is also free in Gaiyo.

Insight into your parking action

The current parking costs can be viewed in the app at any time. And for those who sometimes forget to stop their parking action, they can set up a free push reminder on an hourly basis.

In addition, the app also makes it possible to enter a (generous) end time for your parking session. Suppose if you stop your parking session before the end time you specified, you will be charged for the actual parking duration only.

Lucien Groenhuijzen, CEO of Innovactory, says, “We are very pleased to have made Gaiyo even more convenient with the introduction of this parking widget. With the absence of transaction fees and the many additional features the app offers, Gaiyo is the better alternative to existing parking apps.”

About Gaiyo

The free app Gaiyo functions as a personal travel assistant, providing a real-time overview of all available travel options and combinations, complete with departure and arrival times, travel time and costs. These range from train, tram and bus to shared transport. The app also shows the available times of connecting public transport, and is freely available for Android and iOS users.