Oct 6, 2006

Need to Find Parking?

Anthony Eskinazi, a 23-year-old British math graduate student, has launched a new Web site to link people who need to find parking spaces with those who have spaces to spare. Called Park at my House, the site enables owners of homes and businesses all over the United Kingdom with space for a car in their garage or driveway to advertise their space on the site.  This will allow them to link to people needing somewhere to leave a car when they are "working, attending a concert, event or a match in an area with limited parking or unsatisfactory or expensive public transport."  Use of the site is free to all who use it (and free to those who don't use it as well).

The site instantly maps the exact location of the nearest residential parking space close to the parker's chosen destination. It's very easy to use, by even the most technophobic, according to its creator who, of course, is a graduate math student.

"The idea came to me in San Francisco recently," Eskinazi said. "I was attending a Giants game with a friend and found that there were massive queues to get into the stadium car park and a $10 charge. Yet I noticed lots of empty driveways in the neighborhood. I didn't have the owners' permission to use any of these. In future, by using Park at my House the owners will be able to make their space generate a useful income, instead of the money just going to traffic wardens. Those hoping to park will have an easy, affordable solution."

Eskinazi anticipates that the scheme will take off first in London where new parking spaces are being identified every hour and are already available to rent for a few hours or much longer. Eventually the entrepreneur intends to add Australia, the United States and Canada to his listings. Canada, it should be noted, has plenty of free parking, especially in the Northwest Territories.