Siemens and Streetline Join Forces to Make Finding and Paying for Parking Easy

AUSTIN, Texas, April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Siemens Industry, Inc. (NYSE: SI) and Streetline today announced an advanced parking solution combining smart parking meters, sensors and applications to provide cities with flexible parking options for residents and visitors while reducing traffic congestion in downtown areas.

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Limited parking is a problem in most urban areas and results in increased traffic congestion and emissions. In fact, up to 30 percent of total traffic volume in downtown areas consists of motorists searching for parking. Siemens' on- and off-street parking solutions will improve both traffic flow and a motorists' experience. Additionally, with hundreds of service locations across the United States, Siemens is able to work closely with each city to develop a solution based on its specific needs and provide ongoing service and support during implementation and throughout the life of the system.

"Our new advanced parking solution significantly improves the driver's experience, enabling them to find parking quickly and efficiently," says Terry Heath, president, Mobility and Logistics division, Siemens Infrastructure & Cities. "With this fully integrated offering, we can now help cities direct people to open parking spaces, reduce congestion, lower emissions and improve quality of life."

"Parking is one of those universal challenges that most people around the globe can relate to," said Zia Yusuf, president and CEO of Streetline. "Siemens understands what cities need to become more effective and efficient.  By combining the experience and technology from Siemens with the smart parking sensor-enabled, web and mobile apps from Streetline, we can provide an unparalleled set of next generation offerings to our joint customers. We're pleased to work with Siemens to tackle one of the most pressing issues facing cities today."

The advanced parking solution makes it easier for motorists to locate and pay for parking by providing real-time data to motorists through a free smartphone application that guides drivers to available parking spaces. The application leverages information from wireless sensors, which detect the presence of vehicles in individual parking spaces. Once parked, the consumer friendly interface enables consumers to pay for parking using cash or credit cards at the meter or through the application on their mobile device. Additionally, the application's built-in timer allows drivers to keep track of how much time is left on the meter, add time to the meter and even pull up walking directions to help find their parking space when they need to return to their vehicle. Simplifying the payment process for drivers typically results in increased parking revenue for cities, enabling the city to improve its aging infrastructure in a budget neutral manner.

Further efficiencies can be realized by the city via a central management system that enables operators to remotely monitor parking spaces and gain deeper insight into occupancy and duration, which can be used to optimize parking availability, inform smart planning, and implement demand-based pricing.

"Cities are facing the challenge of aging infrastructure, a growing population and limited financial resources," says Heath. "Advanced parking is a way for Siemens to help the cities face this challenge. We can work with cities to implement a seamless parking solution that requires little to no upfront investment and will not only pay for itself over time through operating efficiencies, but also could help fund future infrastructure upgrades."

For more information, please visit www.itssiemens.com

About Streetline, Inc.
Streetline's mission is to make Smart Cities a reality through the use of sensor-enabled mobile and web applications. As the leading global provider of Smart Parking solutions for cities, airports, universities, private garages, and consumers, Streetline's pioneering technology connects citizens with critical information to improve the way they live and work, while making cities more efficient and lessening their environmental impact.

Streetline is a privately held company headquartered in Foster City, Calif. with Smart-Parking deployments in California, Indianapolis, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington D.C. The company was recently named one of Fast Company's 10 Most Innovative Companies in Transportation, as well as IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year.

For more information, go to www.streetline.com.

About Siemens
Siemens Infrastructure & Cities Sector, with approximately 87,000 employees worldwide, offers sustainable technologies for metropolitan areas and their infrastructures. Its offerings include complete traffic and transportation systems, intelligent logistics, efficient energy supply, environmentally compatible building technologies, modernization of the way power is transmitted and distributed, and smart consumption of electricity. The sector is comprised of the Rail Systems, Mobility and Logistics, Low and Medium Voltage, Smart Grid and Building Technologies Divisions as well as Osram Sylvania.  For more information, visit www.usa.siemens.com/infrastructure-cities.

The Siemens Mobility and Logistics Division provides solutions to customers to optimize passenger and freight transport. The division bundles all Siemens business related to management of traffic, transport and logistics. This includes railway automation, infrastructure logistics, intelligent traffic and transport systems, and technologies for developing the infrastructure for electric mobility. For more information, visit www.usa.siemens.com/mobility.  

SOURCE Siemens