[American Motorcyclist Association] - AMA Member Tested: Curb Ninja App

[Ninjette Newsbot]

Find motorcycle parking in a flash

MSRP: Free
www.curbninja.com

By Sam Devine

The smart phone app, Curb Ninja, lets users search and tag a map of motorcycle parking spots. This may seem ridiculous to some since parking a motorcycle in a suburban or country town is as easy as turning on the faucet. But in the fast-paced urban environment of cities like San Francisco and New York, turning a phone into a divining rod for motorcycle parking is as practical as an umbrella in a downpour.

Commuters to these big cities know their regular spots and how to bee-line for them without a wasted turn or stop light. But running errands or attending meetings across town can still be an undertaking.

The Curb Ninja app offers solutions to these problems, letting users pinpoint good parking spots. It takes about three minutes to tag a spot, filling out necessary fields including number of spots, cost, limitations and a description. Uploading a picture is optional. (Unfortunately, the app can’t let you know if spots are currently filled, but at least it’s a lead.)

And the app has more uses than just parking downtown. Users have the freedom to tag spots anywhere, marking campsites, bars, restaurants and bike shops for easy reference later. In this way, motorcyclists can tag biker-friendly areas and businesses. This lets you find not only places you could park a motorcycle, but places you should park your motorcycle.

The effectiveness of Curb Ninja depends on its users because they, after all, are providing its information. (Since the data can be edited by anyone using the app, it may be subject to pranksters, but the app’s creators do provide oversight.)

The bottom line, though, is the app is an effective and useful tool for those who ride in congested, urban environments. Not only is it clean and easy to use, but ample parking information is provided, and the amount of that information is growing daily.



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