Independent real-world testing graded INRIX significantly more accurate in critical parking attributes; INRIX on-street parking service continues leadership, grows to over 40 cities globally
Kirkland, WA and Ann Arbor, MI – January 19, 2016 – INRIX, Inc., a leading provider of real-time traffic information and driver services worldwide, today announced the results of an independent off-street parking benchmark study. SBD, a global automotive technology research firm, concluded that ParkMe, an INRIX company, beat Parkopedia in data accuracy across the core attribute categories in five key cities in the U.S. and Germany.
Overall, ParkMe was 12 percent more accurate than Parkopedia across a set of core attributes that are essential to automakers for customer satisfaction. Most important, ParkMe was 23 percent more accurate in providing the precise entrance location to parking lots as compared to Parkopedia. ParkMe was the “clear winner” across parking attributes including pricing information accuracy (91 percent versus 81 percent) and correct parking lot operating hours (87 percent versus 83 percent).
“INRIX has always strived to have the most complete and reliable dynamic driver services worldwide,” said Steve Banfield, chief marketing officer of INRIX. “SBD has confirmed what we were already very confident in – that ParkMe has the most accurate parking service in the industry, which ultimately leads to very happy drivers.”
ParkMe, acquired by INRIX in September 2015, has built the world’s most comprehensive parking database that includes more than 29 million confirmed spaces in over 90,000 accessible locations spanning 4,000 cities in 64 countries. ParkMe only displays publicly accessible, non-restricted lots, including both free and fee parking locations, unlike Parkopedia, which also displays restricted-access lots. By excluding restricted lots from its worldwide dataset, consumers using ParkMe are not misrouted to locations that are unavailable to the general public.
SBD’s ground-truth assessment looked at 488 random parking lots in November 2015 across Berlin, Munich, and Stuttgart in Germany, as well as Boston and San Francisco in the United States. SBD sent trained data collectors to evaluate on-site attributes lot by lot (backed by photographic evidence), then compared the field results to published information on respective ParkMe and Parkopedia websites. From the findings, SBD assessed overall accuracy scores, and scores per attribute, lot, and city. SBD was compensated for collecting the data, but the assessments and scoring were completed on an objective and independent basis.
“SBD’s off-street parking study tells a very compelling story about the quality of ParkMe’s coverage in the U.S. and Europe,” said Mark St. Andrew, senior connected car analyst at SBD North America and the study’s author. “These results reinforce the importance of automotive OEMs and service providers focusing on the end-to-end experience for consumers, the foundation of which is starting with the most accurate data possible.”
In a smart parking market growing at 28 percent annually and expected to be worth more than $3 billion over the next decade,[1] INRIX has also made significant innovations and investments to its on-street parking service to provide the best quality and coverage.
Today, INRIX also announced a new licensing agreement with Parknav to expand its on-street parking services to more than 20 German cities, bringing its total coverage to over 40 cities worldwide. Parknav uses machine learning, big data, and predictive analytics to determine what streets will have open parking in real-time. The solution works on all road types and covers all on-street parking categories including free, metered, and permit parking. BMW will be the first automaker to include INRIX’s breakthrough service into its ConnectedDrive cars.
Automakers, mobile app providers, and government agencies interested in learning more about INRIX’s on- and off-street parking services can register for a Webinar scheduled for Tuesday, February 2, 2016, at 7:00 am PT / 4:00 pm CET.
[1] Strategic Analysis of Smart Parking Market in Europe and North America, Frost & Sullivan, April 2015.
