ZOOM IT's About Business 8.4 How to Find a Parking Place In mid-2014, cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and POM Boston banned MonkeyParking, ParkModo, and Haystack. The The size of the parking industry in the United States is estimated cities charged that the companies' business model was illegal to be $18 billion, and finding a parking space in cities remains a because they were making money from free public parking. In es- major challenge. Although many cities have witnessed an increase sence, the apps were charging for something they did not own. The in the number of residents who are using public transportation, bi- cities also approved ordinances making it illegal for any company similar to these three firms to conduct business within city limits. cycles, or carpools, the number of available parking spaces has not increased. Studies have revealed that motorists can spend as much In March 2015, MonkeyParking (now an app in the Apple iStore) went back to San Francisco with a new business model that as 45 minutes searching for an open parking space. Furthermore, parking experts state that up to one in three vehicles circulating in complied with the city's laws. Instead of letting users sell public U.S. cities consists of drivers looking for an empty parking space. property, the company moved its turf to private property, namely As a consequence of inadequate parking, local businesses lose cus- users' driveways. The opportunity for MonkeyParking users is re- tomers, and emissions increase significantly. ally the space in front of the driveway, because most city driveways are too small to hold a car without blocking the sidewalk. Drivers Several technologies have emerged in recent years to help alleviate the parking problem. Peer-to-peer parking apps such as who wish to park are connected with nearby driveways or driveway MonkeyParking, Parkmodo, and Haystack allowed drivers to sell spots. The driver pays a $10 flat fee, and the driveway owner deter- the rights to parking spaces on streets. Drivers who were about mines how long the car may remain. MonkeyParking takes 20 per- to leave a space used the apps to connect with a client who was cent of the flat fee. willing to pay them to wait and give the client the space. The app Sources: Compiled from D. Streitfeld, "Parking Apps Face Obstacles at company helped set the price, and took a commission. Every Turn," New York Times, June 10, 2015; C. Woodward, "The Endless Another app, PocketParker, uses smartphones to monitor the Sage of Haystack, an Illegal App that Tried to Sell Public Parking," beta location and movements of other users who have the app. The Boston, June 10, 2015; J. Eskenazi, "MonkeyParking Is Back and Ready to Disrupt Your Driveway," San Francisco Gate, March 25, 2015; J. Brasuell, app integrates parking lot data from OpenStreetMap (www.open- "MonkeyParking App Is Back-This Time It's Legal," Planetizen, March 24, streetmap.org) and data from combined user actions to calculate 2015; C. Mims, "No 'Free Parking' for an App that Tried," Wall Street Journal, the odds that a particular parking lot has an open parking spot. January 25, 2015; "MonkeyParking App Could Soon Be Banned in LA," ABC ParkWhiz (www.parkwhiz.com), SpotHero (www.spothero News, January 7, 2015; K. Rector, "Canton Resident's Haystack Parking App .com), and JustPark (www.justpark.com) are e-parking services No Longer Operating," Baltimore Sun, November 24, 2014; A. Vaccaro, "In a Post-Haystack Boston, City Exploring More Parking Technology," Boston that allow users to check the availability of parking spaces in par- .com, September 24, 2014; G. Maddaus, "Kicked Out of San Francisco, ticipating parking lots and garages and to book guaranteed spaces MonkeyParking App Plans a Fresh Start in Santa Monica," LA Weekly, Sep- before reaching their destination. tember 18, 2014; C. Garling, "Smartphone Movements Could Reveal Empty Valet companies Stratim (www.stratim.com), Luxe Valet Parking Spots," MIT Technology Review, September 15, 2014; J. Brustein, (www.luxe.com), and Caarbon (www.caarbon.com) allow driv- "How Much Would You Pay for a Parking Spot?" Bloomberg BusinessWeek, August 11-24, 2014; J. Lowensohn, "Parking Spot Startup Vows to Fight ers to click on an app so that when they arrive at their destination San Francisco's Plan to Shut It Down," The Verge, June 27, 2014; S. Larson, a valet takes their cars for as long as they need. When drivers are "San Francisco Tells Parking Apps to Stop Auctioning Spaces," ReadWrite, ready for their cars, they click on the app again. The three compa- June 23, 2014. nies view their business model as the gateway to offering a range of Questions services, such as gas, car washes, and oil changes. 1. Describe how the e-parking apps use wireless communica Some cities, including San Francisco and Boston, are invest- tions. ing in networks of sensors in parking spaces. The sensors, which cost approximately $225 each, give motorists information about 2. The developers of the e-parking apps argued that they were available spaces while also providing cities with data to structure only selling information about parking places and not the parking rates that adjust for demand. Fitting up a limited number parking places themselves. Was this a valid argument? Why of sensors in areas where parking will bring high prices would soon or why not? pay for their installation while reducing traffic. Critics of the plan 3. Were the reactions of San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Bos- note that the sensors do not work in parking spots in residential ton to the e-parking apps appropriate? Why or why not? neighborhoods that have no parking meters