When you first open the app it defaults to showing a map view of nearby car parks, with markers showing the location and pricing information. With a single tap you can switch to list view (sorted by distance). Toolbar buttons let you specify duration (time you want to stay) and the facilities you require (e.g. disabled spaced, accept card payments), and will filter the results displayed accordingly.
The listings, based on our testing, seem reasonably comprehensive. The app picked up all-but-one of the cars park in our local town, although some of the naming information was out of date. Impressively it included a number of small, lesser known, parking options, suggesting there's a large underlying database of car parks.
Each car park gets its own information page, with a mini-map, pricing details, and information on the available facilities (available spaces, toilets, CCTV, etc.). For each car park there are options to get directions (integrates with Bing Maps), set a parking timer, and share the location.
While the app naturally defaults to show car parks nearest to your current location, as determined by GPS, you can also search for car parks by place name and post code. That's handy if you're planning a trip and want to know, in advance, what the parking options are at your destination.
Marketplace description:
Fed up with paying through the nose for parking? At Confused.com we are too, which is why we devised this free parking app. You can get directions to car parks, find out how much they charge, and choose the closest and cheapest.
Search for nearby parking using your GPS location, or by using your destination’s address. You can check availability of disabled spaces, if they accept electronic payments, and plenty more.
You can even set up a parking timer, and the app will remind you before you spend more than a given value.
The Confused.com parking app can be downloaded from the Windows Phone Marketplace for free. It is only available in the UK.