Bloomberg NewsA sign outlines parking rules in New York City.
We’ve all been in this situation: You drive to an important appointment in the city — or a big outing, say, at a sports arena — and waste precious time frantically looking for a parking spot that won’t cost you a day’s wages.
ParkatmyHouse, an online service that began in Britain, is now working on a debut in the United States. It aims to increase the supply of affordable parking by making use of private spots, in driveways or in parking decks, that are available. The concept is similar to the online lodging service Airbnb, except you’re renting parking spaces instead of a room.
Anthony Eskinazi, ParkatmyHouse’s founder and chief executive, said in telephone interview that his company had been operating since 2006 in Britain, where it claims roughly 150,000 registered users and an inventory of some 40,000 parking spaces. Mr. Eskinazi describes the service a “matchmaker” between drivers and parking spaces.
Mr. Eskinazi is beginning to market the service’s operations in the United States, with an initial focus on the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area, as well as in Boston and Washington. The domestic version of the site is just getting started. When I recently typed “parkatmyhouse” into Google, it showed a link to a Web site that lets you submit a request for an area in which you’d like to find parking. (It also provided a link that led to the British Web site, which could be helpful if, say, you are hunting for a spot near Heathrow Airport.)
Mr. Eskinazi said he was working on lining up owners to list their parking spots on the United States Web site and that visitors would soon be connected automatically to a live search site. (To get an idea of how it will work, he said, you can check out a smattering of live rentals available in the Boston area. But he warns that the site isn’t “Americanized,” so there may, for instance, be some confusing British lingo.)
Mr. Eskinazi said he thought the idea would catch on quickly, as people became more familiar with the so-called “sharing economy. “The U.S. market is huge,” he said, noting that people can spend years on waiting lists for available monthly commuter parking in parts of Connecticut. The company has backing from BMW i Ventures, a venture capital outfit based in New York City.
Here’s how the site works in Britain, and, if Mr. Eskinazi’s efforts pan out, here as well. If you want find a spot to rent, whether for a day, a week or on a regular basis, you type in the relevant Zip code to find available spots, along with information about the rates and other attributes (that is, outdoors, in a garage, lighting and security features, etc). You can rent short-term or long-term, depending on your needs and what’s available. You must register on the site and can ask for more details about the property from the owner before committing. The site provides a contract for you to download.
Renters can pay for their space using a credit or debit card or PayPal, Mr. Eskinazi said. ParkatmyHouse makes a 15 percent commission on each transaction. (The frequently asked questions on the British site mention a cash payment option, but Mr. Eskinazi said that option would be removed “shortly.”)
In Britain, he said, one renter is a mother who used a parking space for 15 minutes each weekday morning so she can park and walk her child into school. Another is a homeowner who rents her driveway during soccer matches at a nearby stadium.
If you own a spot you want to rent, you can list it — along with its availability and rate — free on the site. Homeowners with just one spot in their driveway can list it, as can businesses with a larger lot that’s vacant on weekends, or churches that have empty spots during the week, he said. “Honestly, it’s whatever you want. We’re completely flexible.”
There are some requirements. You must own the parking space you list or have the legal right to rent it. If your space comes along with an apartment you rent, for instance, you probably need your landlord’s permission to rent out the space. In Britain, at least, landlords are often agreeable if they are given a cut of the parking income, Mr. Eskinazi said.
As a security precaution, the Web site does not list the specific address of the parking space in question. That’s provided later in the transaction. The service also makes other safety suggestions, like asking the renter to provide a description of the vehicle and information about who will be driving it when it shows up.
What do you think of this concept? Would you rent from a private homeowner? Or list your own parking space for rent to strangers?
Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=645fe70579c7fcf1a19c6a6f52ca4faa