[parkyourcar]

Changing the future starts by changing the city

The way we currently run cities is one key driver of environmental and health problems. All is not lost however, as it also means the solution to these problems lies within these cities. If we can move to more sustainable cities of the future, we can take complete control of environmental issues on a global scale. According to the UN, cities produce 75% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. They expect in the next 15 years half of energy related emissions will be caused by only 500 cities. In the renowned magazine Nature, it was stated that more than 3 million people in cities die each year from air pollution, which is more than casualties from HIV/AIDS, Malaria and the flu combined. Moreover, expansion of cities worldwide causes rising of temperature, destruction of farmland, and massive floods. In order to change the future, we need to change urban life. The big question is: how? We have found a good starting point: Siemens has recently published the Green City Index. They evaluated 120 cities around the world and measured their environmental performance, on indicators that stretch from energy, sanitation, water, waste and air quality to transport, land use, and environmental governance. The extensive research resulted in a global ranking of world cities, and Siemens found a number of lessons from the most environmentally friendly ones. Let’s see what we can learn from them:

First of all, the key is to take a holistic approach. Collaboration between different sectors and city departments is essential. For instance, if we want to solve the problem of air pollution, we need health departments and transport departments to work together. Cities that understand this and facilitate collaboration in tackling the problems are achieving the most successful results. Copenhagen (leading the European Ranks) is a good example of a city with effective holistic environmental governance according to Siemens.

Secondly, we have to take a step further in collaborating with each other. Encouraging civic engagement in the cities efforts is essential. According to Siemens, there is a huge unused potential here. Luckily, more and more entrepreneurs and pioneers are taking the lead to involve the crowd in changing urban life (for example Rooftop Revolution, WeHelpen, Stadslab Buiksloterham). And finally, we have to use the right technology. The research takes the example of London, stating that they could “cut almost 44% of its CO2 emissions with the help of technologies without requiring the residents to change their lifestyle. Almost two thirds of these technological solutions would pay for themselves through energy savings. “.

Parkyourcar plans to work together with partners across all sectors and stay connected with the community so we can all play our part in building the cities of the future together!

[parkyourcar]

How to drive as green as possible

We all know that driving a car, running on fuel, is not good for the environment. We are in the middle of a transition to a greener alternative: the electric car, and we are very happy about that. However, still lots of cars run on fuel and will be around for a few more years. So, how do we go about driving as ‘green’ as possible in the mean time? Here are a few tips…

There are a number of technical things to keep in mind, if you want to drive as green as possible:

* Shift to next gear quickly, between 2000 and 2500 rpm. At 80 km/hr shift to fifth gear already.

* Roll out in gear, this way your car does not use any fuel.

* Use cruise control as much as possible.

* Start your car without stepping on the gas.

* Turn off the engine when you have to wait, for instance at a rail crossing.

* Keep the windows closed as much as possible.

* Limit the use of the air-conditioning and the car heater. These systems run their compressors on motor power, which in turn runs on fuel. Also, it’s important to take good care of your car. A well-taken care of vehicle is greener, so bear in mind to:

* Take off extras on the outside of the car when you don’t use them, like an imperial or cycle rack. They have a negative effect on the aerodynamics of the car and cause it to need more petrol.

* Check the air pressure of the tires regularly; too soft tires increase resistance, in turn increasing fuel use up to 5%.

* Take your stuff out of the car, every 10kg extra in your car uses 0,1 litres of fuel every 100 km.

Equally important to any technical adjustments is the driver’s attitude. The way you use your car in your daily life and the way you behave as a car driver and owner is an important factor in how green your driving is.

* Do not use your car for short distances, use the bike or public transport instead.

* Anticipate traffic ahead in order to avoid unnecessary stopping and starting.

* Drive slowly. Do not hurry when in your car. Either leave on time or accept the fact that you’re going to be late. * Park up using Parkyourcar and commute the rest of the journey on a national transport line, to reduce general consumption ;) The fuel savings you can achieve with this economical way of driving can be up to 10%! Very good news for the environment and very good news for your wallet…

Enjoy the ride!

[parkyourcar]

Electric car parking

The positive impact on the environment of going electric is immeasurable. Electric vehicles do not rely on fossil fuels and release hardly any toxic emission into the atmosphere. This contributes to improved air quality and less noise disturbance in cities. So much so, that the municipality of Amsterdam is encouraging the move to electric car driving in recognising the economic benefits: electric transportation attracts innovative businesses and creative people, which are important catalysts for an expanding economy.

The popularity of electric cars is increasing and with it, so is the need for charging points for electric vehicles. Many Dutch municipalities provide subsidies for citizens that take the initiative to build publicly accessible charging points on street. The presence of charging points in urban areas is an attractive aspect for potential buyers of electric vehicles. It also makes electric car usage more visible to the general public, further promoting electric driving.

People who own electric cars can access charging points at home or on-street, but are dependent on the availability and regularity of charging points throughout the city, when on the move. In the future we hope to see charging points accessible in places throughout the city and countryside, catering to various types of motorists, so that the need to charge in the future is no longer a limitation of electric transportation. Besides private driveways and public city space, other property owners could be encouraged to provide charging points, such as local businesses and owners of private parking garages.

At this moment electric driving is not yet accessible for everybody. Buying a new, less polluting car is still a large expense for many. Peer-to-peer car sharing could be one answer here (read all about it in our previous blog). The same goes for the investment in charging points. This is where Parkyourcar comes in. Our platform enables local businesses and privately owned parking garages to recoup their investments for a charging point by leasing out their points to other parkers. Learn more about our platform here!

[parkyourcar]

Car sharing and parking regulations

Car sharing is a big thing in the emerging sharing economy. City governments are picking up on this and its potential to help make city centres car free. Parking regulations can help leverage the development of car sharing and its benefits for the environment. And Parkyourcar can support these regulations on a practical level.

Local governments are picking up on the potential of car sharing to help mobility related issues in their cities. They increasingly recognise parking policy as a means to encourage car sharing. In their recent publication the CROW - Dutch technology platform for transport, infrastructure and public space – outlines the potential of parking policy. Basically, there are three aspects, which need to be addressed under a parking policy in supporting the move towards a smarter city:

1. The more expensive parking gets, the more people will tend to choose car sharing. This is especially relevant for inhabitants parking their cars on street.

2. Scarcity of parking spaces encourages car sharing.

3. Enabling car sharers to reserve parking spaces or lowering the parking norms (e.g. in cheaper or exclusive parking for car sharing) in favour of shared cars can also be an effective incentive.

Governments can start to gradually reduce the number of parking spaces or gradually increase parking fees. However, it is important to think about the practical implications of limited parking spaces, the consequences being an increase in searching behaviour. Luckily Parkyourcar can help with this, read about it in our previous blog.

Also, you can expect people not to be particularly fond of this idea, since their options become more limited or as parking costs increase. The key is to involve citizens in the process. For instance, by inviting them to think about what to do with the space, which becomes available as public space, or get them to decide their preference of facilities for car sharers. The Good Parking Foundation has been established by Parkyourcar to do the exact same thing. Our foundation plans to support promoting community projects to optimise and re think space in neighbourhoods.

Finally, incentives that favour car sharing require a certain amount of technological support. If you want to lower the parking norms for shared cars, the parking attendant has to be able to recognise a shared car, for instance by a ticket on the dashboard. Also, if you want to provide a possibility to reserve a parking space, you will need a booking system. Parkyourcar has this technology.

The potential of a parking policy for city governments is very promising. Car sharing reduces (the need for) car ownership and as a result (on street) parking spaces can be limited or eventually completely eliminated, if more cars are shared. We see a lot of alignment in the objectives of local government and the conclusions of the CROW publication and, definitely think Parkyourcar can assist in making this kind of policy a practical reality.

[parkyourcar]

Sharing economy & transportation equity

Shared mobility can reduce the number of cars and parking space in cities, making them greener and cleaner. It can also contribute positively to living standards in urban areas on a social level, as peer to peer companies claim to facilitate more social interactions between neighbours and by reducing cars we gain more room for green and playing areas in cities. However, what happens when shared mobility services become competitors to traditional transportation services? Will the city continue to get better as a whole? What challenges could lie ahead?

In the Uberpop example, we have seen the impact this new type of peer-to-peer transportation service can have on the mobility industry, taxi companies in various cities have big problems with the Uberpop business coming to town. The impact even stretches to global discussions on how legislation on minimum wages relates to the Uberpop drivers. It is clear we have to think about this on a broad societal level. When we think a bit into the future another challenge lies ahead: transportation equity. That is we want to live in a society where access to transportation is equal for everybody on a basic level. However, not everybody knows how to use a smartphone, or an app, but everybody needs to, to be able to get somewhere. This is why public transport is important:

”Public transit information must be disseminated to people without a smartphone or for whom English is not their native language through services, such as kiosks and display screens. Public transport looks after social issues related to transport” According to Dr. Shaheen from California University.

In order to sustain transportation equity, local governments and mobility start-ups would need to work together. If the costs of public transport become too high because of competitive transportation businesses, the remaining users that cannot make the switch are the ones left behind (literally), which impacts our community as a whole.

We at Parkyourcar believe in the importance of communities. That’s why we are in the process of establishing a Good Parking Foundation, which will eventually support local initiatives to reuse public space that has become available if parking spaces are taken away.

Furthermore, we connect public transport services to our platform in order for people to leave the car and opt for the bus instead. We are keen to support local governments as we are working towards the same objective: greener, safer, cleaner, well kept urban areas.

The sharing economy is a force to be reckoned with, and regulation is only just catching up with these new developments. In our next blog, we will discuss some of the regulations around car sharing and parking spaces.

[parkyourcar]

Sharing mobility: the future of sustainable transportation?

The sharing economy is typically useful in industries with accessible services of scale, such as cars and houses. For the mobility industry, and for private vehicles in particular, sharing makes sense: especially since global statistics indicate that “80 percent of private vehicles are empty, cars are stationary 95 percent of the time, and this asset is 100 percent owned.” There is a huge window of opportunity for sharing here. Since we are fans of sharing, we want to show you four environmental benefits that can derive from it:

First of all, for the car specifically, research indicates a potential reduction of private car usage by up to 30 percent, when we start efficiently sharing car space. This would also mean a reduction of CO2 and soot emissions of the same percentage.

Secondly, as Anders Fremstad from Colorado State University illustrates: “There is a significant environmental benefit to increasing the use of existing goods and reducing the demand for new goods.” Not only because reusing products puts less strain on our natural resources, also because this reduces waste in our societies.

These first two environmental benefits of using under-utilised services in a more efficient manner are quite straightforward. There are two more opportunities that are less obvious and may well have important impact on our environment in the future.

By monetising the potential of under-utilised cars, the sharing economy may encourage people to purchase more durable and environmentally friendly products that otherwise have been out of reach because of their price tags: Murphy, head of business development at Getaround, believes “sharing can be a massive needle mover for adoption of electric cars”.

Finally, but certainly not least, the sharing economy has been a huge catalyst in the development of some very useful technology. Two examples: we now know how to gather and analyse large amounts of user data, and we have developed super strong peer-to-peer software functionalities. Let me give you an example: there is this new app by Rubicon: they put sensors in dumpsters that monitor when it is full, so that trucks only drive by when it is actually necessary, and scheduled pickups for trash are no longer necessary.

Business innovations that build on these developments have a huge potential to make our society greener in the long run. Parkyourcar is doing the same thing by connecting peers and enabling people to use space more efficiently. Together with our partner BimBimBikes, we encourage people to leave the car, use the bike and make cities greener.

The sharing economy provides lots of interesting and beneficial opportunities for our society; it changes the traditional industries for the better. So how about the mobility industry? Next week we will get into that… so stay tuned!

[parkyourcar]

The Sharing Economy Revolution

The sharing economy could be described as the revolution of the decade: In 2011, collaborative consumption was named one of TIME Magazine's 10 ideas that will change the world. However, long before we labelled it sharing economy, people have been sharing and cooperating in communities. Take carpooling, for instance.  As stated by H.O. Maycotte “In the collaborative economy it’s not the idea of sharing that’s new… What’s different now is the introduction of technology into the concept.” The revolution’s scaling was made possible due these technological developments. Now the same basic concept is gradually being applied to nearly every aspect of modern life. The sharing economy is here to stay, that’s for sure. So what does that mean for our society?

The type of revolution we are talking about is a disruptive business model that is impacting day to day life. Airbnb, is known for being the key disruptor to the tourist industry while Uber has completely disrupted the Taxi Industry. Business as we know it is changing, but so is our way of life. The sharing economy is permanently changing the way consumers think about ownership. In a research by PriceWaterhouseCoopers “81% of people familiar with the sharing economy agreed that it is less expensive to share goods than to own them individually” and 57% agreed that “Access is the new ownership.” This shift has serious implications for the traditional consumer relations relying on selling products to a new owner. This will be replaced by organizations providing access to this product as an alternative.

The advantages for the consumers are of such importance, that governments and organisations will have to deal with it. This genie is not going back in the bottle. All experts think the sharing economy will only grow and spread to even more sectors. To try to put a stop to it with regulation would not be a good idea according to professor Duranton from Wharton (one of the worlds most renowned business schools) “Banning Uber or Airbnb after people have actually experienced them and decided they liked them a lot, will make many consumers unhappy. The elected officials that block these services will pay a heavy price.”

Luckily, the Dutch government recognizes the potential of the sharing economy. Economic affairs minister Kamp has taken a stand to change national regulations in order to create room for growth for sharing-economy organisations. A specific area of interest for regulation is how the sharing economy affects mobility in urban areas. We will be going into this in more detail in next week’s blog.

Until then. See ya!

 #sharingeconomy 

[parkyourcar]

Sharing Economy Quirks..

Parkyourcar is a typical sharing economy start-up: A platform business model; inspired by the famous Airbnb; facilitating trade between peers; a company mission focused on making the world a better place in terms of using valuable natural resources in a more sustainable way; and challenging the traditional parking market with this new disruptive business model.

We are so enthusiastic about our fellow sharing economy start-ups and the paradigm as a whole; we decided to do a series on the Sharing Economy. Welcome to part 1, on some of the most quirky things you can find on the famous sharing platforms:

Airbnb –Rent a Bookshop

Always wanted to know what it would be like to have your own bookshop? Have I got news for you: The Open Book - a bookshop holiday: “Nestled into the pristine lowlands, The Open Book is a charming bookshop with apartment above in the heart of Wigtown, Scotland's National Book Town. Live your dream of having your very own bookshop by the sea in Scotland...”.

Snappcar – Company Commercial Car

A very smart flower shop owner from the South of Holland had his car spray painted with the company logo and wildly colored flowers all over the car. Let’s just say it draws a lot of attention, not just on the streets, also on the platform Snappcar with 35.000 active users! The best part of it is that he gets free promotion tours, and has probably already earned back his marketing costs!

Peerby - Rent a cat

Cats own the internet, that’s a fact. Even on sharing platforms, cats are big business. On Peerby we see the true power of supply and demand: you can rent out your own cat! This way you don’t need to find a sitter for the weekend. Just offer your furry friend to other people that are looking for a pet for a few days.

[parkyourcar]

Exploring alternatives for the car

One of our goals is to support 100 city centres becoming car- free by 2025. We envision a future in which our means of transportation and the infrastructure needed for transport are less polluting, while providing the same or even a higher level of mobility. In doing this, we want to support clever innovative ideas come to fruition and hope to one day collaborate with these new upcoming sustainable ventures for a greener city.  There are some very interesting developments taking shape let us tell you about our 3 favourite ones:

Electric autonomous shared cars   The development of the autonomous car is making lots of progress. When thinking about the future, we look forward to seeing a system where electrical cars drive automatically. They will be equipped with software that responds to your phone, which sends a signal on your behalf if you want to move from A to B. One close and available will be selected for you that will most efficiently get you where you want to go. And by efficient, we do not just mean quick and easy, but also carrying other passengers going the same direction, so you can share the car! Curious to learn more about what this would look like? Here is a short documentary featuring amongst others Tesla’s Elon Musk.

+ Efficient use of road space + Efficient use of car space + Less polluting - Probably less alone time - Users have to wait for the car

ET3 Tubes A system of tubes, much like city metro systems, but bigger… much bigger! Innovative technology enables it to move superfast in a capsule that moves by means of air pressure. Connecting more places within cities but also connecting cities, crossing country borders and running underneath the ground. Fast, comfortable, and non-intrusive to the city or to the country panorama. Futuristic and very cool! Watch this movie by pioneer on ET3 tubes Walter Dresscher.

+ Less pollution + Fast and safe - Users depend on transport schedule - Not door to door

The traditional bike Record holder for least polluting and efficient means of transportation. We as a Dutch start up LOVE this option. Electric bikes make this transportation means accessible for longer distances and physically challenged people (including the elderly). More cities and regions collaborate in building so called ‘fast biking routes’ in order to encourage people to take the bike instead of the car. Like this example between Arnhem and Nijmegen, a direct biking route with hardly any obstacles or crossings and smooth asphalt. In the Netherlands we have been fanatic bike users for years, but it’s great to see the rest of Europe opting for the bike more often and fantastic that the European government is encouraging this.

+ Almost zero pollution + Supports health and fitness - Limited options for carrier goods - Limited to shorter distances

So, which one will be your future daily favourite?

#mobility #future #electric-car #biking #tubes #alternative transportation

[parkyourcar]

Parking space in the spotlight

We at Parkyourcar aim to make urban life more pleasant and greener and we think parking spaces play a major role in this objective. That’s why, in this week’s blog we will get into how parking spaces relate to spatial quality.  

Spatial quality is the way in which a user of space experiences, values and appreciates the space. The ways in which the user measures the quality depends on their personal values: what you think is important. Maybe you judge it by its function on a practical or economical level or maybe you value it based on what it looks like, on an aesthetical level.

So what about parking spots? The case is not that simple. They are very useful if you want to get rid of your car for a bit. On a practical level they add to our daily quality of living if they are available (especially the not -having –to - search part, as we discussed last week). On an economical level it varies: if we as a space user feel we have to pay too much money for a parking spot, this does not contribute to our appreciation of spatial quality. However, on an aesthetic level, parking spots do not add to the spatial quality: most people agree that more concrete is not aesthetical contribution to a city. Also, they tend to attract cars and parked metal boxes spoil the urban panorama.

Amsterdam currently has 400.000 parking spots on the streets (all parking data in the Netherlands are accessible via this platform). This number does not include private parking lots for companies and homes or parking garages both private and government owned! These spaces should be more than enough to host all cars of city inhabitants and visitors, so we definitely do not need to build any more parking spaces, but we do need to organise them better in order to maximize usage of what’s already there. Lots of the parking garages are empty most of the time, while parking spaces on the streets are full. If we can help people on a practical level and encourage them on an economical level to park in the spaces and garages that currently are empty, we can get rid of the parked cars in the streets. This would mean less metal blocking your city view and more space for greenery!

Wouldn’t that be an amazing sight?

[parkyourcar]

Wanted: Parking Space!

When you want to park your car, the first thing you have to do is search for a parking space. This search can be a real pain for motorists. But it’s not only motorists that suffer from the ordeal of searching for parking space: it’s the whole city. Learn more about the damaging effects of searching behaviour in this blogpost.

In the city of Amsterdam, where Parkyourcar HQ is based, every day 50.000 kilometers are travelled searching for parking spaces, according to research commissioned by Amsterdam municipal executive board member Wiebes. What is alarming is these are only the kilometers travelled by local inhabitants, we haven’t factored in the distance covered by tourist travel.

So let’s do some maths: Each year 18.250.000 kilometers are spent on searching for a parking space. This causes 18.250.000 x 220 gr/km (average emission of CO2 per car, diesel or gas) = 4015 tonnes of CO2 emmissions every year, not to mention the soot emissions from cars. While driving at a speed of 10 km/hour, each year we waste 76.000 hours in our search. Remember, this is for Amsterdam inhabitants only! And there is more: when searching for a parking spot people tend to be very distracted and pay less attention to other road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. Frustrated by the time wasted, it affects driving behavior and this can lead to accidents.

I think we can agree that any reduction on time spent searching for spaces in cities is a positive. Luckily, technological developments can help: using sensors to communicate real-time parking availability is having a great impact on this. Also, Parkyourcar enables people to reserve a parking spot in advance, which eliminates any need to search for parking.  

MU Consult research has indicated that improving the parking information pre-trip and on-trip for the four major cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague and Utrecht) of the Netherlands can result in reducing searching kilometres by 1,5 million to 8,4 million.

Aside from all these impressive figures, we think the qualitative results are equally important: if we organize parking behaviour more efficiently, we will need fewer parking spaces and less time to search for them, which gives us more time and more space for fun things and makes urban life more pleasant and environmentally friendly. We will get in to this subject in the next weeks blog, so keep an eye on our Facebook!

Cheerio!

[parkyourcar]

How it all started..

The start of a New Year feels like a good moment to share with you the story of how Parkyourcar was started. Like all business stories, also this one begins with an individual and an idea. Let us tell you the story of Ronald Zwartkruis, founder and CEO of Parkyourcar.

In 1990 Ronald started studying Environmental Sciences at Wageningen University. Growing up in the eighties, with severe environmental issues like manure problems and acid rains, fueled his determination to contribute to a better natural environment. “At that time I felt I had to put my energy in a really meaningful study.”

After graduating Ronald worked as a consultant on sustainable building, writing content on solar energy and eco-friendly building for housing corporations and government institutions. After three years he started his own company with one of his college buddies: the web agency NETQ was founded. They developed a successful online market research tool and the company grew to become a renowned consultancy firm on measuring of healthcare quality in 2008. Ronald withdrew from the company in Spring 2015 in order to focus all his energy on his new enterprise: Parkyourcar.

The motives that led Ronald to study at Wageningen University and work in the sustainable building industry also shaped his private life. He and his family have been home swapping enthusiasts for many years and regularly use Airbnb since the very beginning: “It is all about using space and resources that are already available” which is also the basis for Parkyourcar. Inspired by the car free city centres of Swiss mountain villages he visited on holidays since he was 16 years old, Ronald committed to making cities around the world nicer places by using the space that is already available.

All his past experience and his deep interest in the sharing economy have led up to the founding of Parkyourcar. “Everything I learned at University is becoming relevant for me again: how to more effectively and efficiently use our natural resources”. In this big question Parkyourcar focuses on the better usage of available space as a resource that is becoming scarcer in cities. Even better, the aim is to transform these areas into more friendly places, with greenery and playing grounds, so they improve urban quality of life. “In Parkyourcar I can combine my professional experience as an entrepreneur and my personal interests in more sustainable and smart environments, it’s perfect”.

Ronalds New Year’s Resolution for 2016: After Dublin, I want to bring Parkyourcar to the other 5 European cities that want to go car free: Oslo, Milan, Madrid, Brussels and Paris: here we come!

[parkyourcar]

Let’s talk mobility

We envision a future in which our means of transportation and the infrastructure are run on clean energy while making us more mobile. In our previous blog (read it here) we advocated the need for change in the way we think about mobility. So let’s explore some new ways of thinking…

Changing the need for mobility

First we need to look at the bigger picture and study our behaviour and mobility needs. Issues around mobility have always had a socioeconomic component, one significant example being the traffic jams caused by daily commuters. If we change the way we work (e.g. from home) or the way we move to work (e.g. public transport or travelling outside peak hours) we can tackle a part of this problem. The key is to first explore our (often socially determined) human needs for mobility and try to find see if we can organise traffic in a more efficient and sustainable way. For instance by encouraging employers to organise flexible work schedules, or to adjust college schedules for students to avoid rush hour, as was initiated just last week.

Changing mobility from property to service

Secondly, we need to change how our thinking on mobility is strongly related to property. Urgenda (a Dutch Foundation committed to a fast transition towards a sustainable society, internationally known for their Climate Case against the Dutch government) states that if we want to make the transport sector more sustainable, we need to take a look at car ownership. It is simply not tenable for every city inhabitant of the future to own a car, with the growing number of people who live in the city, we will continue to experience extreme congestion, major lack of parking spaces, and further accelerate huge environmental issues. Urgenda believes that we can transform the current system of transportation to a more sustainable one, and that the key to that is to start looking at mobility not as property but as a service. And we like this thinking!

This starts, again, with exploring the needs of people in terms of mobility. There is still a lot that transportation services can improve upon. Public transport services and traditional taxi services are not sufficiently adapted to our modern daily mobility needs. A number of entrepreneurs have seen the opportunity to create these improvements through a sharing economy, servicing mobility in the form of car sharing such as Snappcar, Uber, WeGo and BlaBlacar. There is a new trend emerging: sharing is the new owning and accessibility is the new property (editors tip: watch this very interesting episode of VPRO Tegenlicht).It’s a greener, cheaper, more communal and sustainable means of living and mobility. The future is here, so let’s get on board!

Sharing is caring ✌

[parkyourcar]

Parkyourcar goes IRISH

Parkyourcar ‘s mission is to support 100 city centres car- free by 2025. This is quite a global goal, so where to start? Ireland of course! Dublin is one of the 9 cities, which is already making progress to go car-free. We decided we would like to play a role in helping that come about.

With Diane Hurley, one of Parkyourcar’s Business Developers based in Ireland, and plans to be an ALPHA startup exhibiting at the Web Summit Dublin (read about it in our previous blog), it made sense to make Dublin our next home to Parkyourcar. Outside business hours of the summit, we explored the streets (and pubs!) of Dublin. We immediately noticed the huge amount of private driveways, accessible without any form of obstruction such as gates or barriers, which are a common sight in the Netherlands. For Parkyourcar, this is a huge positive; it means there are lots of parking spaces for sharing and it is relatively hassle free: just the way we like it!

In 2014, Dublin was voted one of the world’s most congested cities. However, it is making serious efforts to shake this reputation; redirecting traffic flow, restricting access at peak times, reducing speed limits to as low as 30km in places, introducing bike lanes and wider sidewalks, The tram lines Luas Green and Red service a large part of the city, and there are further plans to connect the lines, and build more transport lines in the coming years. 

We made lots of promising connections with organisations that can help Parkyourcar grow in Ireland. The Dutch Embassy in Ireland is helping us with market research in Dublin, London and potentially Manchester; the IDA is willing to introduce us to parties that can help financing our efforts to make Dublin and other Irish car-free city centres; and the Bank of Ireland has already offered us an event space for our launch party in Spring.

With developments looking positive at these early stages, we will raise a glass and toast to that with a Sláinte!

 .. which is Irish for good health :)

�h�

[parkyourcar]

The city of the future is a green one

The Paris Climate Summit has the whole world talking about climate change and the future of our planet. Everybody in Paris agrees that the current way of living in the Western world is causing dangerous levels of CO2 emission. It is clear that we have to change the way we live and behave in order to turn the tide. Parkyourcar wants to contribute to this change.

A number of global trends are influencing the alarming state of our planets climate. One of them is the ongoing urbanization, or to be more exact: the consequences of urbanization. There is major air pollution in the larger cities, only this Monday Beijing announced code red for smog in the city. Nature is disappearing and being replaced by square meters of concrete and buildings, which is causing problems with the drainage of rain water. Biodiversity is being threatened because of this urban expansion, leaving less and less space for vegetation which essentially functions as the lungs of the earth (by ‘inhaling’ CO2 and ‘exhaling’ fresh oxygen).

The biggest challenges are raised by the way we currently shape and use urban infrastructure and mobility. A major part of modern cities is infrastructure aimed at facilitating our mobility. The current situation of congested city centers is responsible for air pollution, excessive noise and safety issues, and overall it isn’t an attractive sight. Even worse, it does not make us any more mobile since we are stuck in traffic most of the time. If we want to tackle these issues, we need to change the way we think about mobility in the city.

It is our mission to change the way people think about space in the city and change the way they use it. By encouraging people to leave the car outside city centers and use the bike; public transport; or a healthy pair of legs instead, we can adjust people’s behavior and encourage them to use city space more efficiently (leaving room for other things like nature and playgrounds). We provide a tool everybody can use to help organize their cities in a more sustainable way: take a look at our platform.

In 2025 we hope to see cities around the world become car-free and make way for the development of cleaner means of transportation in the cities of the future.

[parkyourcar]

Climbing the ladder as a start-up at 2015 Web Summit Dublin

“In 5 years, Web Summit has grown from 400 attendees to over 42,000 from more than 134 countries. It’s been called “the best technology conference on the planet”. But we just think it‘s different. And that difference works for our attendees, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to the world’s most exciting start-ups.”

There was no doubt we had to be part of this. So we arranged a centrally located apartment via our friends in the sharing-economy business, Airbnb and got on a plane to Ireland…

Parkyourcar was selected as a part of the Alpha Programme, an international exhibition space of early stage start-ups. This programme attracted global tech entrepreneurs across all industries and we were fortunate enough to speak to a good number of them.

I can honestly say that it made us proud to receive such positive feedback on our concept and mission in our plan to optimise the use of available (parking) spaces, making parking lots redundant and starting to use city space again for more fun things like recreational and play areas. The energy over the few days at the Web Summit was nothing short of amazing. It was a great experience to be part of this start-up community of dynamic tech entrepreneurs and make so many connections as friends and potential partners.

As we had hoped, the Web Summit brought a number of opportunities for Parkyourcar. We were invited to be one of the four start-ups to make a pitch at the Dutch Embassy in Ireland. They were so enthusiastic about our mission, that they have committed to helping us with market research for Dublin, also London and maybe even Manchester. Wow! Right? UK, here we come…

We also got to connect with the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) who are responsible for the development and promotion of foreign enterprises in Ireland. A very helpful organisation, which has acted as a connector to various associations that can help finance our efforts in Ireland and help us understand better how we can directly impact traffic congestion, support road safety and help create a cleaner city environment.

We can say it was a very promising few days at the Web Summit. Roll on Lisbon 2016 !

[parkyourcar]

De kop is eraf: de eerste parkeerplaatsen zijn aangemeld

Een week geleden lanceerden we het aanmeldformulier voor aanbieders van parkeerplaatsen op Parkyourcar.com. Hier heeft een leuk aantal mensen meteen gebruik van gemaakt en daar zijn we natuurlijk ontzettend blij mee! De media spot ons trouwens ook, gaaf, we staan o.a. op NUzakelijk.nl, Sprout.nl en Autoweek.nl.  Heb jij jouw parkeerplaats ook al aangemeld? Doen hoor, kost je amper tijd en het delen van je parkeerplaats is een goede manier om wat bij te verdienen en iets goeds voor je buurt te doen. Vragen? Mail ons via [email protected]! Hartelijke groet, Ronald, Jeroen & Anniek | Team Parkyourcar