Streetline Raises the Bar on What Consumers Can Expect from Parking Guidance Apps with Release of Parker™ 3.0

FOSTER CITY, Calif., May 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Parking in select U.S. cities today got a little easier with the release of the next generation of Parker™, the award-winning smart parking app by Streetline, Inc. (www.streetline.com)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120516/SF08756-a)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120516/SF08756-b)

With this latest release for both iPhone and Android, consumers can quickly view available parking options based on pricing, location, and/or real-time availability. Parker™ 3.0 also features voice guidance to indicate parking nearby, as well as the ability to find parking based on user-defined preferences such as electric vehicle (EV) charging stations or handicapped spaces. Motorists can also search by points of interest – including airports, universities, shopping centers, featured neighborhoods, transit or hospitals – with new locations and updates being added daily.

Real-time parking information is now available for both on-street parking spots enabled via Streetline's parking sensors, as well as off-street garage and lot information published by parking operators via Streetline's ParkEdge garage management system.

"Streetline is laser focused on consumer-driven parking innovation. Consumers want to find the most convenient, quick, and attractively priced parking closest to their destination. Parker 3.0 makes important steps towards that goal," said Zia Yusuf, CEO of Streetline. "With this latest release, we've further enhanced the user experience, adding in new features such as the ability to toggle between availability and price or find a space based on user-defined filters. We also include both on-street spaces, as well as garages/lots.  As we move toward in-car navigation and see more and more cities deploying sensors to provide real-time parking data to motorists, we believe the idea of 'searching for parking' will become a thing of the past."

Some of the notable features of Parker™ 3.0 by Streetline include:

• Real-time information in select areas to guide consumers to open and available parking spaces; Parker updates automatically when a car is parked or leaves
• Garage and lot information fed directly by garage operators
• Access to coupons and parking specials where available
• Voice feature providing audible queue when available parking is nearby
• Ability to toggle between availability and price, including real time updates as prices are changed or updated
• Easy access to rates, hours and time limits for metered and on-street parking where available
• Ability to enter an address or search by points of interest including airports, universities, shopping centers, featured neighborhoods, transit and hospitals
• Enhanced filters allowing users to set criteria, such as EV charging stations, handicapped spaces, on-street or garages/lots only, or specific payment options (coins, credit card, mobile payments)
• Park Now button to note where a car is parked (and later find guidance back to the car), set reminders, take a picture of a car and add notes about the location. Parker also saves parking history data for easy access later
• Ability to rate and comment on parking locations and set reminders noting great locations... or locations to avoid
• Option to register and pay for parking via mobile payment partners Parkmobile or PaybyPhone
• Available for iPhone and optimized for select Android devices including:
  • Sprint HTC EVO 4G (model A9292)
  • HTC Droid Incredible (model ADR6300)
  • HTC Droid Incredible 2 (model ADR6350)
  • Motorola Droid 2 / model A955 (Droid X)
    Additional Android devices will be available on an ongoing basis. For the most up-to-date list of supported Android devices, please visit www.streetline.com.
    

Parking Reinvented

Streetline is revolutionizing how cities reduce congestion and emissions by tackling a key, but often overlooked, source: drivers searching for parking. Experts estimate that 30 percent of urban traffic is caused by motorists looking for parking. 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. [*Based on 2007 study by Professor Donald Shoup, University of California, Los Angeles]

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. By downloading Parker onto a smartphone or compatible tablet, consumers can access real-time parking availability – with icons noting more than four spaces available (plenty of parking), more than two spaces available (some parking), or less than two spaces available (limited parking). The app also delivers information about parking space time limits, pricing, whether meters take credit cards or coins, as well as static parking data for select locations.

Parker 3.0 is available as a free download on Google Play or the iTunes Store. A full list of current locations can be found in the app by clicking on the globe.

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, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, 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.

SOURCE Streetline, Inc.