The famous disabled adventurer Philippe Croizon launches VIP, an application intended to help people with reduced mobility find reserved parking spaces more easily. A valuable and practical service, but paid.
To the greatest regret of motorists, it is not always easy to find a parking space. For some, this is a real headache that can waste many minutes. Unfortunately, this task is even more complicated for people with disabilities. With more than 12 million people with disabilities, parking spaces dedicated to them are becoming increasingly rare. To remedy this, extreme swimmer Philippe Croizon, who had both arms and both legs amputated after being struck by a power line in 1994, launched a new application. Called VIP (Very Important Parking), the platform allows users to geolocate parking spaces reserved for people with reduced mobility (PRM).
Very Important Parking : an app to help people with reduced mobility
This Monday, January 22, Philippe Croizon and his partner, Thierry Garot, announced the launch of their VIP application. A platform that was created to meet a very specific need that people encounter on a daily basis. “I give a lot of conferences. And every time I arrive in a new city, I go around in circles to find a suitable place and I consume a lot of gasoline”he assured during an interview with Le Figaro. Faced with this problem, the athlete has developed an application which will greatly facilitate travel for people with reduced mobility. “I wanted to do something very ‘quality’ which lists parking spaces, with a lot of information, but also lots of suggestions for accessible places to help people with reduced mobility in their daily lives. Because parking is never the final goal , but often the way to get to the bakery for example”he continued.
Ultimately, Philippe Croizon and his partner want to list all the places accessible to people with disabilities. “[VIP] aims to list by spring 2024 all restaurants, hotels, toilets, cinemas, tourist sites and stores easily accessible to PRMs”, declared the 55-year-old sportsman. A real revolution for those concerned when we know that many car parks are full, even if the spaces reserved for PRMs are free. For now, the first tests of the platform seem more than encouraging. “It worked beyond our expectations. The beta testers took ownership of the application and, in two weeks, they had already identified 1,300 parking spaces, public or private , rejoiced Philippe Croizon. Please note, the application is already available on the Play Store And the App Store. Users will be able to benefit from it for the sum of 2.99 euros per month or 19.99 euros for life for the very first registrants; and 14 days free trial.