Baloise promotes innovative ideas and entrepreneurial thinking by its employees. The concept for Parcandi was first developed as part of an internal innovation campaign. As the name suggests, Parcandi is all about parking. On the one hand, Switzerland alone has hundreds of thousands of empty parking spaces at residential and commercial buildings – on the other hand, drivers often waste a lot of time looking in vain for somewhere to park.

“We are very proud to be expanding our ecosystem through the service offered by our spin-off, Parcandi, and to be able to provide our customers with real added value. The future of parking should be simple and convenient – which fits in very well with our Simply Safe strategy. This will also reduce the risk of accidents caused by the sometimes exasperating search for a parking space,” explains Patrick Wirth, Head of the Mobility ecosystem at Baloise Group. 

Parcandi redefines parking by making long, tortuous searches for parking spaces a thing of the past. At parcandi.ch drivers can reserve their desired space up to two hours in advance or just find a spot as and when they need it – and then park as long as they like. Payment is online by credit card, once users have finished parking. They are only charged for the time they have actually been parking, a reservation period of up to two hours is free. The bespoke system that controls access to car parks and displays availability can be flexibly adjusted to suit the providers of the spaces and is easily scalable to include additional car parks, allowing Parcandi to add new parking spaces or cities quickly and efficiently. The entrances to participating residential or commercial buildings and the parking spaces themselves are clearly marked with the Parcandi logo. To book a parking space once they’ve arrived, users simply need to register their number plate and telephone number via parcandi.ch, which only takes a few seconds. The service is also available via the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) app, a corporate partner of Parcandi. “Parcandi offers a win-win situation, both for drivers who require parking spaces and for the owners of car parks, who are able to make more efficient use of their premises. Because users travel directly to the car park, the extra traffic that would be created while searching for a spot is eliminated. This makes a noticeable difference, especially in residential areas,” says Parcandi CEO Corsin Sulser.

Parcandi AG, a spin-off of the Baloise Group, puts the owners of empty parking spaces in touch with drivers looking for somewhere to park. Parcandi enables property owners to rent out their parking spaces simply and flexibly. These spaces can then be booked on demand using Parcandi’s app. Drivers requiring a parking space can book one with just a few clicks, up to two hours in advance. True to its mission statement “We change the way people park”, Parcandi takes the stress out of finding a parking space and reduces traffic resulting from cars looking for somewhere to park. The company was founded in July 2021, and its service is already available at several locations in the German-speaking parts of Switzerland. Parcandi AG is based in Basel and currently employs six people.

The Touring Club Switzerland has 1.5 million members, making it the largest mobility club in Switzerland. For 125 years, we have campaigned for safety and independence in personal mobility and we make representations on subjects of public interest, particularly in the areas of road safety and consumer protection. As a non-profit association, the TCS provides the people of Switzerland with the means to make informed decisions on safe, economical and sustainable mobility, regardless of the specific means of transport. The TCS is a trusted partner in discussions with public authorities, makes expert, factual contributions to political debates, and promotes freedom of choice regarding means of transport as well as lobbying for infrastructure development.