According to Nick Austin, founder of a new parking app called Divvy, approximately 30 per cent of congestion is caused by people driving around looking for a car space. And major Australian cities have some of the most expensive parking in the world — yet there are thousands of vacant car spaces in office buildings and hotels that we don’t know about!
We’re all familiar with the dilemma of fighting for spots in the street. We become aggressive and incredibly selfish when it comes to finding a car space and we don’t want to share. Yet, the concept of the ‘sharing economy’ is still on the rise with thousands of tech start-ups emerging and embracing the idea of collaborative consumption.
Austin says the name of his app derives from the idea of ‘divvying up’ or ‘sharing assets’. The app is modeled on the Airbnb platform and frees up unused parking spots in central areas of cities by connecting users with the vacant car spaces. The user’s licence plate is stored in the app and on approach to a car-park entrance the system will recognise the number plate and open the door. Giving access to under-utilized car spaces and connecting existing buildings into one network, will help remove vehicles from city streets, improve traffic flow and public transport,” Austin said.Key to Divvy’s growth has been its successful deals with 25 property groups and investment funds including Knight Frank and Dexus. And recently Australia’s National Road and Motorist Association bought a significant stake of the company. Divvy will likely expand into Southeast Asia, Europe and the US. The app is available to download on both Android and iPhone.
Article by Natasha Laging
Source: http://www.motoring.com.au
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