Parking: The Good, The Bad, The Brilliant

FOSTER CITY, Calif., May 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Parker™ by Streetline, the award-winning real-time parking guidance app, was put to the test in several urban areas to see if – and by how much – real-time information is successful in reducing the time it takes to find that elusive parking spot.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130523/AQ20271-INFO)

A 2011 global survey of commuters in 20 international cities conducted by IBM found that in the past year, nearly six out of 10 drivers had abandoned their search for a parking space at least once and drivers have spent an average of nearly 20 minutes in pursuit of a coveted spot. IBM also found that a 10% reduction in congestion could increase local GDP by 2%, and with 30% of city traffic being from people searching for parking, the potential economic impacts of Parker are substantial. Additionally, vehicle emissions resulting from drivers looking for parking are so closely linked that a year-long study found that drivers in a 15 block district in Los Angeles drove in excess of 950,000 miles, produced 730 tons of carbon dioxide and used 47,000 gallons of gas searching for parking.*

Tracking both time and mileage by GPS, drivers sought to find parking near the same address in areas which Parker offers real-time availability. Group A had access to real-time parking data via Parker by Streetline, while Group B relied on good-old-fashioned luck. After 28 GPS-tracked journeys, Parker was found to have significant benefits for motorists in all areas included in the test:

• Driving time was reduced by 43% from 6:26 minutes to 3:41 minutes
• Vehicle miles traveled dropped 21% from 0.91 to 0.72
• Average price of space per hour was lower by 22% from $2.68 to $2.10

Even more suggestive is the aggregate impact of this study if applied to a large user base. Using these results, if 100,000 motorists used Parker three times a week, the annual potential impact would be:

• 712,956 fewer vehicle hours on the road
• 3,021,964 fewer vehicle miles driven on city streets
• 177,763 fewer gallons of gasoline used
• 3,142,843 pounds of CO2 emissions reduced

To see the Parker study infographic, "Parking: The Good, The Bad, The Brilliant", click here: http://www.streetline.com/parking-infographic-good-bad-brilliant/ 

About Streetline, Inc.

Streetline's mission is to make smart cities a reality through the use of sensor-enabled mobile and web applications. Streetline's pioneering technology makes the parking experience for consumers easier, while making cities and university campuses more efficient.

Already deployed in more than 30 locations in both the U.S. and Europe, Streetline's patented smart parking platform detects the presence of a car through a network of ultra-low power wireless sensors located in individual parking spaces. Data from these sensors, or from counting equipment installed in parking garages and lots, is then made available in real time via various cloud-based applications, such as Parker™ by Streetline, the leading mobile app for consumers, and – soon – in-car navigation systems. Earlier this year, Streetline introduced ParkerMap™, an embeddable widget that allows merchants, universities, cities, and parking providers to easily showcase nearby parking options via any website.

Streetline is a privately-held company headquartered in Foster City, CA with smart parking deployments in Germany, the U.K., and across the United States including California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, DC. The company was named one of Fast Company's 10 Most Innovative Companies in Transportation, as well as IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year. Streetline was named Best Mobile Innovation for 'Smart Cities' for Parker at the 2013 Mobile World Congress.

For more information on Streetline visit: http://www.streetline.com.

To download Parker by Streetline please visit: http://www.theparkerapp.com.

To access the free ParkerMap visit: www.theparkerapp.com/parkermap

To follow Streetline on Twitter: @streetlineinc

*Based on 2007 study by Professor Donald Shoup, University of California, Los Angeles

SOURCE Streetline, Inc.