NCP, the UK’s largest car park operator, and app developer Mobikats, have announced the launch of a “map-driven” Android app that is designed to help motorists find the nearest parking site to their destination and get them there in the shortest timeframe.

The app shows which of NCP’s 600 plus urban and airport car parks is closest to the user’s chosen destination. It also includes mapping details of its location, precise directions on how to get there, and parking charges. The app also offers a map and walking directions to the user’s final destination.

And if you’re the sort of idiot who forgets where he parked his car (my hand is the first to go up here – Ed) there’s a ‘Car Finder’ feature that enables you to save a parked car location on a map, together with an image of the car in the car park and the slot it’s been parked in. (If only it was retrospective, maybe I could find that Lamborghini that’s sitting, rusting, somewhere in a multi-storey in Milton Kenyes). Alternatively, for an Augmented Reality experience, users can hold their phone up and see where their car is parked, superimposed on a video camera feed from their phone.

“NCP is a customer-centric business, and this app is consistent with our corporate goal to maximise the customer experience at our car parks nationwide,” says Alison Sams, NCP’s head of marketing and retention. “We believe our new smartphone app will quickly become a must-have tool for motorists, and help end their urban and airport parking nightmares.”