A few years back, some friends and I were heading to a football game. It was a typical Saturday afternoon and as we entered town, traffic began to bear down. Kickoff was only 20 minutes away, and given that we woke up late and missed tailgating, we were already a bit on edge. As we veered off the main road to try and avoid traffic, we noticed several people standing in the driveway of their house holding a sign, “Park here for $10”. Naturally, we were intrigued. We knew at this point we weren’t going to find street parking and the nearby parking garage was probably full, not to mention cost $20+. As we pulled into the driveway, we were greeted by a lady who offered us lemonade and a big smile. Suffice it to say, we were ecstatic.

After the game, we came back to the house to again be greeted by the lady, who offered us another glass of lemonade. As we pulled out of her driveway, I couldn’t help but think not only did this lady save us time and money, but she made me realize that millions of driveways, parking lots, and even garages that go unused during the course of a day, simply because there is no existing market.

That is why we are introducing the ParkWhiz Marketplace. Scheduled to launch in early 2007, it will allow users to buy and sell parking in a real-time environment. So what exactly is the ParkWhiz Marketplace? The ParkWhiz Marketplace is:

A place to buy parking. Find nearly any type of parking you want at the price you want and the time you want. It doesn’t matter if you need parking for 3 hours this afternoon or for the entire month of January. You’ll be able to get parking near your destination at the cheapest market prices.

A place to sell parking. You could be a parking garage operator with excess space or just an average Joe (or Josephine) that wants to offer up their driveway for parking. Live near a sports arena? Have a space available for monthly parking? Simply list it on ParkWhiz and watch the cash come pouring in. ParkWhiz makes it easy to reach a huge group of people that would love to park in your available space.

A place to find parking information. Users have discovered that ParkWhiz is a great place to price compare or “window shop” because of the detailed information in our database. Listings often include pricing, location, a detailed description, and a rating for evaluating the facility or space. Because you can see all available parking in a desired location side-by-side, ParkWhiz gives you insight into the real market value or “street value” of local parking.

Free for buyers and inexpensive for sellers. It costs nothing to become a ParkWhiz member, to shop for parking, or to purchase parking from ParkWhiz sellers. Sellers pay a small charge when a space is sold and there are no monthly fees or other hidden costs.

Environmental friendly. ParkWhiz doesn’t just bring greenbacks ($) to sellers, it also brings green back to the environment. Studies have suggested that driving around for parking increases urban traffic congestion by up to 30%, leading to greater emissions and air pollution. By increasing the pool of available parking and helping people park there quickly, there will be less traffic circling for parking spaces and cleaner air to breathe in.

The ParkWhiz Marketplace is currently in development, and your feedback can help shape the final product. Let us know what you think of the idea and how we could make ParkWhiz Marketplace more useful to you.