Cracking Down on Parking Fraud

As populations continue to grow in large cities, car usage rises to match the population increase. All of this has made parking even more challenging and complicated. To make matters worse, evidence exists that some drivers are using and selling fraudulent disabled parking decals to steal spots from the disabled. Mark Perriello, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities describes it as a serious problem, saying “the issue needs to be addressed.”

parking-fraud An article in Government Technology Magazine discussed a new solution being tested by Pondera Solutions. Pondera Solutions is a “product and services firm focused on implementing Google solutions in government agencies.” As mentioned in the article, they are using Google technology to address the emerging disabled parking problem. The Fraud Detection as a Service (FDaaS) is described as “a cutting-edge fraud detection engine that helps identify, predict, and prevent improper use of disabled parking permits.” Jon Coss, CEO of Pondera Solutions, said the FDaaS can help track down fraudsters. He rightly observes that “if someone is at 500 percent of the average [number of replacement cards issued], they are either very forgetful or it’s possible they might be profiting from trafficking these things.”

However, FDaaS does not provide definitive proof of fraud, merely an indicator of it, which requires state or local agencies to follow up on the information. So although it is drawing a lot of positive attention and a number of jurisdictions are considering using FDaaS, it is not a finalized solution to the problem.

So when planning to drive in the city, why take the chance that some driver with fraudulent disabled parking decals will steal your spot? We are firmly against parking fraud and we have your back!

With ParkJockey, you are guaranteed a spot at a convenient location nearest to your destination. We even have a feature where you can specify disabled parking so all of your individual needs are met. No hassles like mystery parking tickets, no worry about fraudulent placards, no time wasted looking for your spot. No matter where you may want to go in the city, be it Flatiron, Tribeca, Midtown Manhattan, or anywhere in the NYC area, ParkJockey allows you to focus on what is important, the destination.

Make sure to use the promo code NOFRAUD next time you park and save 10% off your parking!

Stay Safe With ParkJockey

We have already discussed on this blog how using ParkJockey’s forward-thinking technology can significantly reduce emissions generated by drivers looking for parking. But the social benefits of convenient parking do not end there.

Significant data reporting on car accidents involving pedestrians is not hard to find and the results are quite interesting. As it turns out, parking lots are some of the most dangerous locations for pedestrians and shopping and business districts are the areas with the highest rates of pedestrian collisions. One could easily predict such a result. After all, shopping centers and parking lots are often the busiest locations, those with the most vehicle and pedestrian traffic. It makes sense that the longer pedestrians share space with cars, the more likely they are to be involved in an accident.

The question then is: what can be done about these dangerous areas? How can we minimize the interaction of pedestrians and drivers to make the streets safer for everybody? One way to help is to minimize time spent looking for parking.

When drivers cruise for parking in bustling commercial areas like Chelsea or Midtown, they contribute to dangerous conditions in a number of ways. First, they create more traffic in an area already overpopulated with an abundance of cars, taxis, and pedestrians. Second, when drivers are getting ready to park, their attention is diverted away from the road by shops, signs, and, most significantly, potential parking spaces.

It is unfortunate that we should still have to grapple with basic issues like these in the 21^st Century. ParkJockey has been doing its part by enabling drivers to alleviate their parking concerns before they even leave the house. When a driver has his parking booked, he avoids adding to traffic by getting to his destination quicker. Also, he will drive safer, unencumbered by the distraction of looking for parking.

ParkJockey wants to make parking and driving safer and more convenient for everyone on the road. Get started with the promo code SAFE and save 10% on your first booking.

ParkJockey Announces Partnership with NCP

ParkJockey is now live across the United Kingdom!

ParkJockey is now fully integrated within the largest parking operator of the U.K., National Car Parks (NCP), nationwide along with a whole host of other car park operators, spreading across 23 major cities.

This expansion gives you as a ParkJockey driver more parking options, in more places, at all times. Major entertainment venues along with shopping quarters are covered in each of the cities, providing you with the ability to pre-book parking in advance to avoid wasteful circling.

Book parking for everything you do, including events such as sports matches, shows, and not to mention, when you go shopping. These places all have adjacent car parks available to book via ParkJockey’s mobile app and website. For example,

Here is a full list of cities that ParkJockey are live in; Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bolton, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Chester, Croydon, Derby, Dundee, Kingston, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newark, Newcastle, Newport, Nottingham, Reading, Stockport, Swansea & Truro.

ParkJockey brings you hassle-free parking for any occasion!

ParkJockey is moving at a fast pace, so keep an eye out in the next couple weeks as we are launching newest version of our mobile app, further expanding in the UK, and much more!

ParkJockey UK Team

Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2014

October 12, 2014 marks the 37th anniversary of the Chicago Marathon. It is considered one of the six World Marathon Majors as well as Boston, New York, Berlin, London and Tokyo. The first race held in Chicago was on September 25, 1977 under the original name Mayor Daley Marathon with 4,200 participants. Now the marathon has around 45,000 runners, but only participants clocking in less than 6.5 hours are timed. In 2008, the marathon’s name was changed from LaSalle Bank to Bank of America. That year 37,455 runners completed the race giving it the highest completion at that time. The men’s course record is by Dennis Kimetto with 2:03:45 in 2013 and the women’s is by Paula Radcliffe with 2:17:18 in 2002.

The marathon begins at Grant Park and runs through 29 of the Chicago’s neighborhoods. The race is sectioned into three parts the North, West and South passing Chicago’s main stadiums such as Wrigley Field, United Center and US Cellular Field. There will be 20 aid stations and medical staff every 1-3 miles with ambulances throughout the course in case of emergency.

Participants train for a very long time to make sure they are qualified for this race since it is 26.2 miles. Not only are they dedicated to finish they also raise money for charities such as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, American Heart Association, Out of the Darkness and The Anti-Cruelty Society. If you wish to donate to a great cause click here
to view all the charities for the marathon.

Also, if you want to attend the race but not exactly sure where to go here is the marathon’s course map with cheering zone information. ParkJockey has parking locations all over the city so once you figure out where you want to view the race type the address into the search bar on the home page and the closest parking locations will appear.

Good luck to everyone participating in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Hope everyone has a great and safe time! -ParkJockey

Disruptor Profile: How ParkJockey is Bringing Parking Online

ParkJockey UK are proud to be featured in the NimbusNinety blog, prior to their semi-annual conference and inaugural Ignite awards, which will take place on the 4-5th of November, in London.

Igal Aciman, our Global Head of Sales & Marketing, has been invited to speak at the conference, to give an insight into ParkJockey in relation to ‘Customer-centric Digital Disruption in a Traditional Industry’.

The Nimbus Ninety article outlines ParkJockey’s initial steps of disrupting a traditional industry, along with the most important fact that makes any customer-centric app successful – putting the customers first, give to them what they want and cateting for them that will ensure a more seamless experience

Read the full article here, featuring an interview with Kamal Rajput (Head of Operations, UK) and Igal Aciman.

The Emerging Miami Tech-hub

Miami’s creative culture is catching the eye of many investment firms and start-up accelerators. A recent article by Nancy Dahlberg in the Miami Herald reiterates the exciting new prospects of South Florida and the reasons for which Miami is becoming a new tech ecosystem, with a big nod to ParkJockey.

“All the elements are here,” speaks Brad Harrison, a New York Venture capitalist. It’s position as the gateway to Latin America and a growing ecosystem of talented entrepreneurs show that there is an abundance of potential for finding the next best thing in Miami.

As ParkJockey, we are proud to be part of the thriving Miami start-up ecosystem.

To read full article on The Miami Herald, click here.

Don’t Let Parking Drive You Crazy !!!

Getting parking tickets can be very stressful business. It makes you wonder just how far people will go to avoid a parking ticket. One San Francisco woman went 12 blocks. With a traffic cop on the hood of her car!

The Huffington Post reports that Bo Mounsombath, 33, was trying to get out of a parking citation by swiping a ticket from another car and placing it on her own. Obviously, that old trick wasn’t slick enough to get by San Francisco’s finest, and while a traffic officer was writing her a ticket, Ms. Mounsombath hit the gas and took the officer for a half mile ride on the hood of her car.

Usually, parking tickets are only a petty, albeit expensive, nuisance. However, you never can tell when your morning can shift gears from facing a $50 fine to facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon. Don’t push your luck and don’t let parking tickets drive you insane. Keep your cool and book your parking space ahead of time with ParkJockey.

Reduce your Carbon Footprint: Stop Cruising for Parking and Book Ahead of Time with ParkJockey!

At The People’s Climate March, a dramatic display of political engagement and international solidarity, people all over the world participated in what has been recorded as the largest organized march for climate change in history. An estimated 400,000 marchers came out in New York City bearing loud voices and colorful banners, along with another 270,000 at related events worldwide. They excoriated our world leaders for not doing more to stem the tide of global climate change and raised a unified voice of hope for a brighter future, that human cooperation and ingenuity will be able to solve the greatest issue of our age.

Naturally, we here at ParkJockey took a step back to reflect on the state of our environment and what we could do to help make the world not only a more convenient, but a more sustainable place. As every driver knows, parking is huge issue, especially in urban areas. What most people don’t know, however, is the serious environmental impact of cruising for parking.

In 2008, Transportation Alternatives conducted a study on driving habits on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and the results were nothing short of astounding. After doing a close survey of a 15-block area on Columbus Avenue, Transportation Alternatives found that, on an average outing, an Upper West Side driver logs about .4 miles (.7 during peak hours) on their odometer. While that may not seem like a lot, cruising for parking adds up to 366,000 miles per year on the Upper West Side alone. That is enough to drive around the world almost 15 times!

Perhaps the most distressing statistic from the Transportation Alternatives’ study reflects the environmental impact of looking for parking. The tiny sliver of Upper West Side drivers looking for parking generates about 325 tons of Carbon Dioxide pollution per year. To put that number in perspective, New York City would have to plant 64,000 trees to offset the carbon footprint of those 366,000 miles.

ParkJockey wants to invite all New York City drivers to become a part of the global solution for climate change. There is a lot we could all be doing in our every day lives to help the environment and by using ParkJockey to book your parking ahead of time, you will not only be enjoying an extra convenience, but you will actually be doing your part in lowering the global carbon footprint. The days of cruising for parking are numbered; the future is one where we drive exactly where we need to go; no more, no less, and no waste. We here at ParkJockey see no reason why New Yorkers should waste their time, hard earned money, and gasoline looking for parking when an easier, cheaper, simpler and, above all, greener solution is here.

Get started with ParkJockey today by using the promo code GREEN to save 10% on your first booking!

Proposal Week

I call this week “Proposal Week.” Non-stop emails and phone calls to companies trying to create new business, something that for a start-up is decisive. That’s my role, finding partners and affiliates to join in with the ParkJockey dream. My passion – meeting new people and brands, negotiating deals and making a difference on a daily basis to build something unique. In an ideal world working for ParkJockey is a no brainer, and in many dreams it is but no dream is like that of a start-up.

I work with some of those most intelligent people (whist it pains me they’ll read this and their heads might get even bigger that it’s true): Yale, Harvard, you name it, ex-management consultants from the likes of A. T. Kearney, McKinsey… You get the picture, genius’ working on parking. Operationally they are a different level, if you can restructure some of the companies these guys have worked for in previous years, then parking will be a breeze, surely? The answer, no. It still takes hard work.

ParkJockey is a start-up, something that every day gives us a challenge, a surprise, a result, a failure and a success. It’s a knock-out Ricky Hatton style every day or a Ryder Cup, Miracle-of-Medina-moment every week. The choice is yours in what you choose to do with your life but mine is to make a difference and to be part of something special.

Michael Muskat

Business Development Manager, London