“Air Garage” Campus Parking Using “Space Force”

Here’s the deal – Through the use of an app, an Airzona company called “AirGarage” is renting out unused parking spaces around the University of Arizona and Arizona State to students and faculty who don’t want to fight the on campus parking rules and regs. You can read all about it over on Parknews.biz.

The company cuts deals with local businesses with extra space (churches, restaurants, offices and yes, even private residences.) Then the parker goes on line, finds a space they like, and reserve it.

They can then park in that lot and AirGarage sorts our the money.

Ah, you say, how does the church know that the people parking in their lot are authorized to do so. This is where it gets interesting.

To regulate those lots, AirGarage users can join the “Space Force” — a game-like crowdsourcing enforcement feature through which, by scanning license plates in the lots you park in and ensuring everyone is using the app correctly, users can earn free parking.

“We have a squadron of enforcers who can compete with one another to get the highest score for the week,” AirGarage founder Jonathan Barkl said. “By crowdsourcing enforcement, we’re able to lower the cost for our lot owners and bring more parking options online.”

“Air Garage” parked 30,000 vehicles last year and is growing – it expects to expand into California (UC Berkeley) this year.

I would think that this app is perfect for its demographic. College students live by their smart phones, and would love the idea of a “Space Force” game. These folks may be on to something.

JVH