ParkMe Launches Mobile Phone App to Help Austinites and Visitors Find Downtown Parking

Austin, Texas,- ParkMe announced today that the company has launched a free iPhone app that allows users in Central Austin to find real-time availability of garage and street parking. The ParkMe iPhone app is available now for download from the iTunes App Store or at www.ParkMe.com . Austin is the first market to launch the real-time app.

"Austin is experiencing rapid growth, which in turn increases the demand for on-street parking in our central core," Steve Grassfield, parking enterprise manager for the City of Austin, said. "Efforts to make real-time parking information more accessible to citizens are welcome."

Street and garage parking information is available for areas around downtown Austin and The University of Texas at Austin. If the City's parking system expands, ParkMe will increase its coverage area accordingly.

In addition to the iPhone app, ParkMe provides an online feature for local downtown businesses that allows customers to view parking availability near the business locale at any given time. The parking feature can be downloaded to any website and is free.

"With its constant stream of visitors and students, we believe Austin is the perfect location to launch our real-time parking information," Sam Friedman, CEO of ParkMe, said. "Using data from the City of Austin, we're thrilled to be able to provide Austinites with an unprecedented ability to identify the best on-street parking in real time."

The ParkMe iPhone app allows users to see parking availability in the form of "heat maps," which illustrate parking availability on a block-by-block basis through color-coded streets on a map. The street parking availability is refreshed every five minutes. Comprehensive information about garage parking is also provided, including rates, hours, accepted payment types and the entry point of every lot.

Additional features include the "recommendation engine" that shows drivers the best parking location around their destination based on cost and proximity. The app also has a "rate calculator" feature, which automatically calculates the total price of parking based on the amount of time they would like to stay.

Drivers should not use the ParkMe app while the car is in motion.

ParkMe, the leading provider of parking information to navigation companies and smartphones, has built the world's most comprehensive parking database, including more than 25,000 worldwide locations in more than 500 cities, 19 countries and three continents.

For more information about the iPhone app and ParkMe, please visit www.ParkMe.com.

About ParkMe

Based in Santa Monica, Calif., ParkMe (formerly Parking in Motion) is the leading provider of parking information to navigation companies and smartphones. Founded by Sam Friedman and Alex Israel, ParkMe collects and aggregates data about both on-street and off-street parking and has built the world's most comprehensive parking database in an effort to make parking easier. The database includes more than 25,000 worldwide locations in more than 500 cities, 19 countries and three continents. ParkMe offers a free iPhone app that helps drivers find parking in real time from their smartphones. ParkMe can be found on Twitter @TheParkMeApp and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/parkinginmotion.