South Bay

South Bay Entrepreneurs Develop App to Tackle Parking Issues

Fed up with parking? There’s an app for that. A pair of South Bay entrepreneurs have created an Airbnb like service for parking.

The app called ‘Parkstash’ matches cars with a nearby driveways to rent, which means less circling when trying to find a spot. At San Jose State University, looking for parking could be a Spartan-like task.

"It’s kind of a nightmare at times," said SJSU alum, Sameer Saran. "I missed classes and I missed exams because of it."

So when Saran graduated from SJSU, he did something to try and ease the parking issue.

"When I was walking down the street, I saw empty driveways and carports, I started realizing, these people can share this valuable resource with students and staff," Saran said. "We could actually solve the problem of parking."

For $2 an hour or weekly and monthly rates, drivers can park in nearby driveways listed on the app.

Neighbours in the community were concerned about inviting college students into their driveways.

"The fear of neighbours is, college kids were parking and trashing the neighbourhood," said neighbor Christy Stevens.

Once Stevens allowed them to use their driveway, she realized the students were simply part of the community.

As "Parkstash" continues to build trust in the community, Saran said they are reaching out to malls and concert venues that might have extra parking spaces that drivers can rent.

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