Finding Street Parking for Motorcycles Just Got Easier With Launch of CurbNinja
May, 2014
Motorcyclists and scooter enthusiasts need not fear the dreaded search for street parking in urban centers anymore. The mobile app CurbNinja has been launched. Avid motorcyclists, Founders Fred Lebed and Tim Hines have developed what they call “a simple solution to the rider’s parking dilemma.”
CurbNinja allows users to find the best and safest parking spots on public streets as vetted by fellow riders. Using crowd-sourcing, the app also allows them to share spots they find with the app’s community. It is available for free download on both iPhone and Android devices, giving any rider with a smartphone the ability to find and share parking spots.
“Living in the city, you learn all of the best places to stash your bike on the street, especially for free,” Hines said. “I found myself taking pictures of my bike in these spots to thwart possible tickets, and then mapping them for personal use. Before I knew it, I had all my favorite spots plotted in a single summer.
“CurbNinja was born out of that mapping idea,” he said. “We created the ability for users to share these spots with millions of riders across the country, in turn saving them the hassles of city parking.”
The app is designed to be easy to use when searching for spots to park two-wheeled machines. Users can search by their current location or address to find spots nearby. An interactive map
then displays plotted spots where users can then
click to get more detailed information, including a photo to prevent any confusion when parking.
Lebed and Hines said CurbNinja makes finding hidden free spots and the safest paid spots easy, saving riders time and money on costly parking. And most important, it “helps prevent pesky parking tickets and expensive towing bills.”
[Source: CurbNinja]
Lanier Closes on Equity Investment, Names Industry Veteran Skillett CEO
Lanier Parking Solutions, a leading national parking and transportation management company, has closed on an equity investment from Antarctica Capital that will enable the Atlanta-headquartered company to “accelerate its acquisition growth plans and expand its services in a broader geographic area.”
The company anticipates that this growth will come from investments in other regional parking companies and large municipal contracts, the press release added.
Lanier also announced March 10, that industry veteran Jerry Skillett will become CEO of the company effective immediately and will “drive the execution of [the company’s] growth initiatives.” Founder, Chairman and CEO Michael Robison will retire from the company.
“I am excited to pass the torch to Jerry, and gratified that he is keeping Lanier’s strong management team in place,” Robison said. “The company we have grown over the last 25 years is in excellent hands.”
Lanier Chief Financial Officer David Klarman said that Antarctica Capital’s investment will give the company “the ability to continue its successful growth strategy and the resources to acquire and form strategic alliances with other private regional parking companies.
“As we seek new business opportunities across the country, we will continue to provide the high level of services our clients have come to expect,” from Lanier team members,” he said.
“This is an important strategic investment for Antarctica,” said Chandra R. Patel, its Managing Director, “and we are excited to work with the talented Lanier management team and employees to build on their track record of success.
“Our goal in partnering with Lanier is to create a unique platform on which other like-minded regional firms can join with us in building,” Patel said.
[Source: Lanier Parking Solutions]
Beecham Research Looks at Future Impact
of Next- Generation ‘Smart-Parking’ Systems
“Smart-parking” systems could relieve traffic congestion, reduce driver frustration, improve health and give a vital boost to the future of our cities, said IT and telecoms analyst Therese Cory, Principal Author of a report published in late March by Cambridge, UK-based Beecham Research.
“Road systems provide the vital arteries for commercial and business activities, but parking has become a major problem in all cities,” Cory said. “Early smart-parking apps may appear to be a novelty, but they are just the start, and alleviating parking congestion could deliver major benefits by helping to eliminate time wastage,
cut petrol consumption and reduce harmful exhaust emissions.
“We can learn from these relatively circumscribed smart parking initiatives to shape future, larger-scale ‘smart city’ projects to drive further productivity and prosperity,” she said.
Cities are centers for business, government and culture, attracting high volumes of workers and visitors. But today, “the use of modern communications and information technology is enabling officials to explore new ways to make their cities work better,” the research firm said in a press release.
The Beecham report examines a number of ongoing smart-parking trials in major cities from Birmingham, UK, to Moscow, using road-mounted sensors in busy shopping or tourist centers. Drivers use smartphone apps to access data collected from these sensors and analysed in central IT systems to produce a map of free spaces. In the near future, the report notes, automotive manufacturers will make this feature available from their “in-car telematics displays.”
For the report, Beecham Research conducted interviews with a broad range of participants needed to deliver smart-parking solutions, including sensor manufacturers, wireless network designers, mobile operators and IT system developers, integrators and analysts. In addition, Beecham also “harnessed the views and experiences” of city officials, funding bodies, concession owners, building contractors and others – not forgetting the motorists who will use and pay for their parking spaces.
[Source: Beecham Research]
Nedap AVI Now Nedap Identification Systems
Nedap AVI has changed its name to “Nedap Identification Systems.” The reason, executives said, is that over the past few years, Nedap AVI (Automatic Vehicle Identification) has developed energetically and expanded its portfolio – from specialist in long-range RFID solutions for vehicle and driver identification to a solution provider with a wider portfolio.
This now includes long-range identification of people in and around buildings, wireless vehicle detection sensors for on-street parking guidance, and remote management of vehicle entrance points to restricted city zones, the company said.
Ruben Wegman, CEO of Netherlands-based parent company Nedap N.V., said, “The [identification systems] group has been able to bring new relevant technologies to the industries of security, traffic and parking.
“Our long-range RFID readers can be used indoors and outdoors for both vehicles and people. Current technological development enables access control solutions that combine security with high levels of convenience. This is the right moment to change our name and to prepare ourselves for future market demands. ...”
At the same time, the corporation announced a new “activity,” Nedap Mobility Solutions, which will be part of the renamed unit, whose General Manager, Maarten Mijwaart, said, “This will bring together all of our solutions to help cities become smart about mobility.
“Our wireless parking detection system Sensit, as well as our advanced solution for vehicular city access control, will be part of this activity.
“In 2013, Nedap saw the breakthrough for Sensit,” Mijwaart said. “The wireless parking sensor market is a very promising one, and so far we have deployed the platform in several cities around the world. We expect that this is only the beginning. ... Based on ... international interest in mobility solutions for cities, we [concluded] that now is the time to roll out this solution internationally.”
[Source: Nedap Identification Systems, Nedap N.V.]
CurbNinja allows users to find the best and safest parking spots on public streets as vetted by fellow riders. Using crowd-sourcing, the app also allows them to share spots they find with the app’s community. It is available for free download on both iPhone and Android devices, giving any rider with a smartphone the ability to find and share parking spots.
“Living in the city, you learn all of the best places to stash your bike on the street, especially for free,” Hines said. “I found myself taking pictures of my bike in these spots to thwart possible tickets, and then mapping them for personal use. Before I knew it, I had all my favorite spots plotted in a single summer.
“CurbNinja was born out of that mapping idea,” he said. “We created the ability for users to share these spots with millions of riders across the country, in turn saving them the hassles of city parking.”
The app is designed to be easy to use when searching for spots to park two-wheeled machines. Users can search by their current location or address to find spots nearby. An interactive map
then displays plotted spots where users can then
click to get more detailed information, including a photo to prevent any confusion when parking.
Lebed and Hines said CurbNinja makes finding hidden free spots and the safest paid spots easy, saving riders time and money on costly parking. And most important, it “helps prevent pesky parking tickets and expensive towing bills.”
[Source: CurbNinja]
Lanier Closes on Equity Investment, Names Industry Veteran Skillett CEO
Lanier Parking Solutions, a leading national parking and transportation management company, has closed on an equity investment from Antarctica Capital that will enable the Atlanta-headquartered company to “accelerate its acquisition growth plans and expand its services in a broader geographic area.”
The company anticipates that this growth will come from investments in other regional parking companies and large municipal contracts, the press release added.
Lanier also announced March 10, that industry veteran Jerry Skillett will become CEO of the company effective immediately and will “drive the execution of [the company’s] growth initiatives.” Founder, Chairman and CEO Michael Robison will retire from the company.
“I am excited to pass the torch to Jerry, and gratified that he is keeping Lanier’s strong management team in place,” Robison said. “The company we have grown over the last 25 years is in excellent hands.”
Lanier Chief Financial Officer David Klarman said that Antarctica Capital’s investment will give the company “the ability to continue its successful growth strategy and the resources to acquire and form strategic alliances with other private regional parking companies.
“As we seek new business opportunities across the country, we will continue to provide the high level of services our clients have come to expect,” from Lanier team members,” he said.
“This is an important strategic investment for Antarctica,” said Chandra R. Patel, its Managing Director, “and we are excited to work with the talented Lanier management team and employees to build on their track record of success.
“Our goal in partnering with Lanier is to create a unique platform on which other like-minded regional firms can join with us in building,” Patel said.
[Source: Lanier Parking Solutions]
Beecham Research Looks at Future Impact
of Next- Generation ‘Smart-Parking’ Systems
“Smart-parking” systems could relieve traffic congestion, reduce driver frustration, improve health and give a vital boost to the future of our cities, said IT and telecoms analyst Therese Cory, Principal Author of a report published in late March by Cambridge, UK-based Beecham Research.
“Road systems provide the vital arteries for commercial and business activities, but parking has become a major problem in all cities,” Cory said. “Early smart-parking apps may appear to be a novelty, but they are just the start, and alleviating parking congestion could deliver major benefits by helping to eliminate time wastage,
cut petrol consumption and reduce harmful exhaust emissions.
“We can learn from these relatively circumscribed smart parking initiatives to shape future, larger-scale ‘smart city’ projects to drive further productivity and prosperity,” she said.
Cities are centers for business, government and culture, attracting high volumes of workers and visitors. But today, “the use of modern communications and information technology is enabling officials to explore new ways to make their cities work better,” the research firm said in a press release.
The Beecham report examines a number of ongoing smart-parking trials in major cities from Birmingham, UK, to Moscow, using road-mounted sensors in busy shopping or tourist centers. Drivers use smartphone apps to access data collected from these sensors and analysed in central IT systems to produce a map of free spaces. In the near future, the report notes, automotive manufacturers will make this feature available from their “in-car telematics displays.”
For the report, Beecham Research conducted interviews with a broad range of participants needed to deliver smart-parking solutions, including sensor manufacturers, wireless network designers, mobile operators and IT system developers, integrators and analysts. In addition, Beecham also “harnessed the views and experiences” of city officials, funding bodies, concession owners, building contractors and others – not forgetting the motorists who will use and pay for their parking spaces.
[Source: Beecham Research]
Nedap AVI Now Nedap Identification Systems
Nedap AVI has changed its name to “Nedap Identification Systems.” The reason, executives said, is that over the past few years, Nedap AVI (Automatic Vehicle Identification) has developed energetically and expanded its portfolio – from specialist in long-range RFID solutions for vehicle and driver identification to a solution provider with a wider portfolio.
This now includes long-range identification of people in and around buildings, wireless vehicle detection sensors for on-street parking guidance, and remote management of vehicle entrance points to restricted city zones, the company said.
Ruben Wegman, CEO of Netherlands-based parent company Nedap N.V., said, “The [identification systems] group has been able to bring new relevant technologies to the industries of security, traffic and parking.
“Our long-range RFID readers can be used indoors and outdoors for both vehicles and people. Current technological development enables access control solutions that combine security with high levels of convenience. This is the right moment to change our name and to prepare ourselves for future market demands. ...”
At the same time, the corporation announced a new “activity,” Nedap Mobility Solutions, which will be part of the renamed unit, whose General Manager, Maarten Mijwaart, said, “This will bring together all of our solutions to help cities become smart about mobility.
“Our wireless parking detection system Sensit, as well as our advanced solution for vehicular city access control, will be part of this activity.
“In 2013, Nedap saw the breakthrough for Sensit,” Mijwaart said. “The wireless parking sensor market is a very promising one, and so far we have deployed the platform in several cities around the world. We expect that this is only the beginning. ... Based on ... international interest in mobility solutions for cities, we [concluded] that now is the time to roll out this solution internationally.”
[Source: Nedap Identification Systems, Nedap N.V.]
