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Roadify Lets Brooklynites Find Parking, Buses Via Text

by Terrence O'Brien on March 1, 2010 at 08:29 AM

New Service Lets Brooklynites Find Parking Via Text
So this doesn't really help non-New York City residents. And for the moment, it only makes a difference to those who happen to dwell in the Park Slope area of Brooklyn [Ed. Note: Some of us do!]. But a startup called Roadify is testing out some interesting stuff.

'Parking Around Me' (PAM) is a text messaging service for finding parking spots. Users text "get" and their location, in the form of an address or intersection, and receive a list of (hopefully) open spots nearby. The service relies on community building, hence the small test market. When you plan to leave a spot, you text "give" and your location, then the service will alert others looking for parking in the area.

"Giving" is essential since without it, PAM would just be a database of supposedly occupied spots. To ensure participation, the service awards StreetCARma points when you "give" a spot and subtracts them when you claim one. That means that if you request too many spots without giving any back, PAM will simply stop replying to your requests.

Roadify has focused on Park Slope and the area surrounding New York Methodist Hospital, because of its notoriously bad parking. So far, the company has recruited over 700 members, and it has plans to expand and cover the rest of New York City. Big Apple dwellers rejoice... or at least those of us stuck with a car. [From: BrooklynInk, via: Huffington Post]

Tags: brooklyn, new york city, NewYorkCity, PAM, park slope, parking, parking around me, ParkingAroundMe, ParkSlope, roadify, texting, top

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