Monthly Archives: September 2011

September 30, 2011

National Parking Association and PIM Launch Partnership

National Parking Association and Parking in Motion Launch Initiative to Increase Real Time Access to Parking for Consumers

NPA & Parking in Motion form alliance to bring real time parking information and reservations to GPS, in-car navigation, and mobile devices.

Washington, D.C.—September 30, 2011 The National Parking Association (NPA) announced today that it has formed a strategic alliance with Parking in Motion (PIM), the leading provider of static and real time parking information. Through this global alliance, NPA members can connect directly to consumers by making their parking locations more visible and accessible to the public.

PIM’s international parking database and search functionality enables NPA members to deliver facility information to millions of customers through navigation devices and mobile apps —making it easier than ever for drivers to find available parking. NPA members can easily enter, claim, verify and update their parking locations and map points via this alliance.

Parking in Motion offers more than 25,000 parking locations in 500 cities and 19 countries, making PIM a major source for parking information. Additionally, operators can utilize the parking search and map functionality on their own websites, helping customers easily locate their lots. This powerful database provides locations for hospitals, universities, commercial parking and municipal parking with rates, hours of operation, and amenity description—as well as exact entry points.

NPA President Christine Banning said, “NPA is pleased to make this innovative move to partner with Parking in Motion, a leader in mobile parking solutions. NPA supports best in class partnerships that provide its members with effective, consumer-centered tools to improve the public’s access to parking.”

Banning added, “location-based services, mobile search, mobile payment and social networking are converging to enhance the parking experience for consumers. NPA is at the forefront of this one of the most important trends in business to consumer outreach and technology”

“As Parking in Motion takes the lead in providing drivers with actionable real time parking info, we selected the industry’s largest and most prestigious association to partner with us,” said Sam Friedman, Co-Founder and CEO of Parking in Motion. He added, “NPA is adopting technology, advancing research and embracing a mobile revolution that’s transforming the industry as a whole. With PIM’s help, we are both excited to make the search for parking a thing of the past.”

According to the Gartner Group, mobile user spending is expected to reach $15.9 billion in 2012 with 1.4 billion users by 2012 and mobile email users reaching 713 million people in 2014. NPA members can add all their parking locations, number of parking spaces and company information to be part of worldwide distribution of their parking locations to consumers.

About NPA: The National Parking Association is the nation’s leading parking trade group advancing the interests of the private and public sector in parking technology, sustainable mobility, certification, advocacy, research and education. Founded in 1951, NPA has more than 2,200 members and represents all facets of the parking industry, www .npapark .org.

About PIM: Parking In Motion, Co-Founded by Sam Friedman and Alex Israel and headquartered in Santa Monica, California is the leading aggregator of static and real time parking information, with over 25,000 parking locations. Parking In Motion works with garage operators, smart meter manufacturers and municipalities to improve driver awareness and decrease auto emissions. PIM has been featured notably in CNET, The Los Angeles Times, Tech Crunch, USA Today and Mashable among others, www.parkinginmotion.com.

September 28, 2011

Parking In Motion Announces Closing of Series A Funding

Parking In Motion Closes Series A Financing Round to Bring Real-Time Parking Information to Motorists

Santa Monica, CA – September 28, 2011 - Parking In Motion, Inc. today announced the closing of its Series A financing round, co-led by IDG Ventures and Fontinalis Partners, which will allow the company to deliver the world’s largest real-time parking database to automobile navigation systems, mobile phones, tablet devices, and other data aggregators.

Parking in Motion’s mission is to help drivers park quickly and cheaply in a world where parking demand is growing much faster than the supply of spaces. More than two billion vehicles are projected to be on the road by 2050, and current studies indicate that approximately 30% of urban congestion currently results from motorists searching for parking. Going forward, it will become increasingly important for drivers to quickly locate available parking in order to ease carbon emissions and traffic congestion, and real-time parking availability information will be instrumental in accomplishing that goal.

“We are pleased that two of the world’s leading technology and transportation investors have joined us to take Parking In Motion to the next level, and we view the investment as further validation of the growing importance of real-time transportation data,” says Sam Friedman, Co-Founder and CEO of Parking In Motion. “We are all excited to make the search for a parking space a thing of the past, and this partnership will accelerate our progress towards that goal.”

Parking In Motion has built the world’s leading parking database, covering more than 25,000 parking locations in 500+ cities, 19 countries and 3 continents, including both on-street and off-street parking locations. Parking In Motion works with both cities and private garage operators to direct drivers to available parking spaces. By “tapping” into already existing infrastructure such as smart parking meters, sensors, and parking gates, the company can inform drivers of real-time occupancy and pricing information.

William Clay Ford, Jr. (“Bill Ford”), a Founding Partner of Fontinalis Partners and Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company, stated, “Our partnership with the Parking In Motion team reflects our commitment to supporting companies that seek to improve personal mobility across the globe. Real-time parking data can have a meaningful impact on alleviating the world’s most pressing congestion and environmental problems.”

Fontinalis Partners is not affiliated with Ford Motor Company.

“Saving time, money and the planet at the same time is appealing, and we were impressed by the robustness of Parking In Motion’s parking data and the scalability of its platform,” says Pat Kenealy, Managing Director of IDG Ventures. “The Parking In Motion team has done a great job of aggregating data across thousands of disparate parking providers and presenting it in consumer-friendly ways in nav systems and on cell phones, tablets, and other mobile devices. As the world ‘goes mobile’, real-time parking information is poised for widespread distribution.”

Parking In Motion currently delivers its information to users through its branded mobile apps and partnerships with leading navigation providers, mobile developers, and other commercial partners. Parking In Motion’s smartphone app allows drivers to find and compare parking across the US, Canada, and Europe. Users can compare parking garages, lots, and spaces by cost, availability, hours of operation, and distance, and then receive in-app directions to the exact entry points.

Parking In Motion is constantly adding coverage to its parking database, working with both cities and private garage operators and vendors. The company is also constantly adding distribution partners to increase its user base, forming partnerships with map and navigation vendors, traffic data providers, cell phone carriers and app publishers, according to Friedman.

“Parking In Motion’s extremely scalable method for processing and distributing real-time parking information will soon make it commonplace for drivers to locate parking by using their mobile phones and other platforms,” says Friedman.

About Parking In Motion

Parking In Motion (PIM), Co-Founded by Sam Friedman and Alex Israel and headquartered in Santa Monica, California, is a provider of dynamic and real-time parking data. PIM offers comprehensive coverage in 500+ cities in the US, Canada, and Europe by providing rates, hours, entrance points, and occupancy information. Additionally, the database includes on-street meter and sign restrictions in the top 26 US markets. In addition to its direct-to-consumer smartphone app, the company has entered into partnerships with leading GPS navigation companies and app developers to reach a large audience of users. Building on its resources and relationships with operators and municipalities, Parking In Motion serves as an industry leader in providing accurate and instantaneous real-time parking info to the world. By empowering drivers with intelligent information and an ever-expanding database, PIM’s innovative approach makes it easier than ever for motorists to find available parking.

Visit www.parkinginmotion.com

Follow on Twitter @parkinginmotion

Like facebook.com/parkinginmotion

Read blog .parkinginmotion .com

Contact (310) 451 – 9109

About IDG Ventures

IDG Ventures USA invests in New Media and IT companies in the US. The IDG global network of technology venture funds has approximately $3.7 billion under management in Asia and North America, and works closely with International Data Group (IDG), the world’s largest IT media company. By combining the IDG platform – an unparalleled combination of global publishing, market research, and conference and exhibition resources – with years of hands-on experience in early-stage company building, IDG Ventures helps its portfolio companies understand their markets better and penetrate them faster than their competition. Leading technology companies that IDG has invested in include Netscape, Excite, Infoseek, Epiphany, F5 Networks, BabyCenter, Service Metrics, and Spinner.com in North America and Baidu, Ctrip, Focus Media, Memsic, SouFun, Tencent, and Vinagames in Asia.

About Fontinalis Partners

Fontinalis Partners, with offices in Detroit and Boston, is a leading transportation technology strategic investment firm founded by Bill Ford, Ralph Booth, Mark Schulz, Chris Cheever and Chris Thomas. Fontinalis’ mission is to leverage the firm’s considerable management experience, market access, strategic relationships, international expertise, and background in transportation innovation to scale companies providing the transportation technology solutions of tomorrow. Fontinalis Partners, LLC, invests as a strategic partner across all facets of the world’s transportation infrastructure on a stage, structure and size agnostic basis. Fontinalis Partners is not affiliated with Ford Motor Company. For further information about Fontinalis Partners, please visit www .fontinalispartners .com or call (313) 432-0321.

September 21, 2011

Scenes From Park(ing) Day 2011

Although it’s not a national holiday (yet), Parking In Motion thinks it deserves some serious recognition.

Park(ing) Day, an event that is quickly becoming an international spectacle, was celebrated across the globe last week. Park(ing) Day aims to transform austere urban parking spaces into lush, verdant “mini” parks. The first one of its kind was held in San Francisco in 2005, and during the past few years it has caught on in other cities. While there were some reported incidents of police interference, the day was mostly successful in allowing people to positively alter their metropolitan landscapes. Take a look at some of the creativity and inventiveness that took place.

An open park space for people to enjoy their lunch, on the streets of San Francisco

In New York, people enjoyed a little Shakespeare in the Park(ing) spot

In Philadelphia, organizers provided a fully loaded anti-stress zone

Our bicycle-friendly neighbors from Santa Monica Spoke

September 15, 2011

Next Phase of Expo Line Will Bridge Downtown to Santa Monica

Los Angeles has long since lagged behind other cities in providing its citizens with proper connectivity. In just a few short years that will all change.

No, we’re not talking about the long-pined for “Subway to the Sea,” which has seemingly taken eons to get off the ground. The Expo light rail extension is a much more modest development with a smoother path to fruition. The line has already been completed from downtown to Culver City, and with new construction it will bring passengers all the way to the beach at 4th and Colorado. While this line won’t run through vital mid-city sections like Hollywood and Beverly Hills, it’s still a very important milestone in LA’s transportation reinvention. The Los Angeles Times reports:

The Expo Line will be the first to penetrate the often-gridlocked Westside since streetcars crisscrossed the region. Officials estimate its ridership will rival that of the heavily used Blue Line from Long Beach to downtown L.A., and said it could become one of the busiest rail lines in the country.

The $1.5B project will be funded through Measure R, an investment program that aims to tackle the city’s major transit needs over the next 3o years. The first phase, which stops near La Brea and Jefferson, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011. The 6.6 mile extension should hopefully be completed by 2015 and will drastically alter the daily lives of Angelenos.

September 9, 2011

President Obama Outlines Transportation Goals In Speech

Last night President Obama outlined his proposal for creating new jobs, a nearly $500 billion package. The bill, specifically called “The American Jobs Act,” addresses the dire employment situation on all fronts, with significant emphasis being put towards transportation and infrastructure.

It seems inevitable that there will be some sort of political battle over the perceived costliness of the bill, with no specific outline being put forth just yet. What’s clear is that a large amount of Americans are struggling to stay afloat in a climate with disappearing jobs. The deficit problem that’s been plaguing the US has made it difficult to fund basic transit needs, so it’s encouraging to see politicians place so much importance on the restoration of highways, rails, and aviation. Yonah Freemark of The Transport Politic writes:

Alternatives to Mr. Obama’s plan that would continue to limit transportation funding from the federal government have little credibility — at least if we believe that keeping the nation’s mobility networks in a condition of acceptable repair is an important national goal. States have limited ability to increase their indebtedness, and the cutbacks that have followed the recession have demonstrated that governors and state legislatures have been almost universally unwilling (or unable) to invest their own funds to shore up their roads and transit lines — in spite of a decline in support from D.C.

The bill includes transit upgrades in major cities like Houston and Denver, and will put a significant dent in the unemployment numbers. It will still need to overcome heavy bipartisanship that has stalled many recent projects in Washington. The jobs bill comes on the heels of President Obama pleading with congress to pass a clean transportation bill, which has already jeopardized many projects and jobs. The NRDC blog reports:

This would embody the President’s vision for boosting jobs and the economy – a bill that will put Americans back to work while bringing our aging transportation infrastructure back to world class standards

There is no greater symbol of America’s strength than our infrastructure, but that is being threatened with each passing year of inactivity. The president’s bill keenly focuses on putting people back to work through transit reinforcement. Our politicians must now come together and realize the importance of keeping America strong, inside and out.

September 7, 2011

Parking Hero of the Month

For anyone who’s ever opened their glove box to a handful of parking tickets, meet Charles Mysak of Wayne, New Jersey. For years Mysack has been thumbing his nose at the NY Parking Violations Bureau, and it appears his persistence is paying off.

For the past 11 years, Mysak has been making a living as a bookseller on a particularly crowded block in New York. Every morning, he methodically works around sign restrictions and street sweepers to set up his sidewalk book store from out of his car. Although he’s racked up plenty of tickets, he responsibly stays on top of his debts to NYC. To the city’s ticket issuers, he scoffs, “It’s an outrage so much time is being dedicated to taking money from taxpayers–they’re acting as predators. We are taxed, bullied and harassed.”

So PIM salutes Charles Mysak for his refusal to conform and names him a burgeoning New York parking folk hero.