Twenty shared parking spaces have been provided to the public since Friday in the Huangsi 24 community, Desheng Street, Xicheng district, Beijing. The project was initiated as a trial to make parking more convenient.

Parking issues are highlighted in Desheng district because there are a large number of communities and neighborhoods. To solve the issue, the sub-district office and Shouzhong Investment Management Co. Ltd. (a joint venture by the Shougang Group and China International Marine Containers) developed the first platform for shared parking spaces, the Desheng Parking Sharing app.

People can offer their vacant parking spaces to others in the daytime using the app. Drivers use it to find the nearest parking space and make a payment online. The charge for each space is 6 yuan per hour, which is cheaper than parking spaces on the roadside.

This can not only make the best use of vacant parking spaces in the community, but also benefit residents who provide parking spaces by giving them 60 percent of the dividends. Parking-space sharing will be promoted in other areas if this works well.

The Xicheng District People's Government and Shougang Group Co. Ltd. signed a Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement, which names the parking industry as a major cooperation area, including the Desheng Street parking trial project.