Apple Maps Could Factor Parking and Walking Into Arrival Estimates

Apple Maps could eventually account for the time it takes to find parking and walk to your destination, based on new iOS 27.3 code findings shared by pdfu.

A new 'TimeToPark' flag allows CoreRoutine, an iOS system component, to use background location and motion data to measure how long a user spends near a destination before parking, along with the walk afterward. Both measurements are saved for each trip and grouped by day of the week and hour.

For now, the flag can only be enabled on internal installations, and no Maps feature uses the data yet. The finding points to a possible change in arrival estimates, not a feature available to users or a confirmed addition to the public iOS 27.3 release.

Parking already has a place in the app through its SpotHero integration, added in 2023 to help users find and book spaces. Accounting for the time spent parking and walking would address a different part of the trip: getting from the road to the final destination.