A method and apparatus for providing timely and efficient notification of vehicle
parking space availability and locations of vehicle parking spaces to motorists
or other network users. Local detector devices sense the presence or absence of
a vehicle in a particular parking space and communicate space identification and
status information to a computer network. The parking space status information
is integrated with electronic street maps of the area where the relevant spaces
are located. Integrated maps containing space status identifiers are communicated
to any number of networks.
