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Navigation Developers Can Access Spark Parking Points of Interest Through New Tele Atlas ContentLink Program

Running late for a meeting and worried about finding a place to park? Unhappy about paying outrageous valet parking fees at your favorite restaurant? These headaches will soon be a thing of the past. Spark Parking’s detailed parking location information data is now available through the newly released Tele Atlas ContentLink(SM) portal for application developers to incorporate into a range of GPS devices and location-based services and applications.

Spark Parking’s detailed parking information provides the locations of every paid parking facility in each covered city – from the enormous multi-level garages to the tiny surface lots hidden in alleys. In addition, Spark Parking includes facility size, operating hours, parking rates, available validations, and many more details not previously available from any source. As a result, drivers will easily be able to find parking that meets their needs and budgets.

Tele Atlas ContentLink is a unique Web-based program for content production and distribution that gives location-based application developers access to a wide range of up-to-date, specialized content and points of interest (POIs). Publishers of any size can post content to the portal, verifying the precise position of their content on Tele Atlas maps. Developers can then search, acquire and download the content to create highly targeted applications for personal and in-car navigation systems, as well as mobile and wireless devices.

Spark Parking’s content for San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, and the United Kingdom is available immediately for use by qualified application developers. Content development for parking locations in other cities and countries is underway and can be provided on an as-requested basis. To learn more about Spark Parking’s content available through the program, visit: http://www.teleatlas.com/Pub/Partners/ContentLink/index.htm

Spark Parking and NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge® semifinalist ParkWhiz partner to provide real-time parking availability

Spark Parking, a leading provider of parking management services, has partnered with ParkWhiz to offer a location-aware parking finder available via mobile phones. ParkWhiz’s Mobile Parking Information Search application, a semifinalist in the 2007 NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge, displays real-time parking occupancy to help drivers quickly locate available parking spaces that meet their requirements.

Spark Parking uses wireless sensor technology to deliver a range of parking management services to owners of parking lots and garages. ParkWhiz’s Mobile Parking Information Search tracks a driver's position via global positioning system (GPS) technology and delivers detailed parking information about the surrounding area. While on the move, drivers can get information on parking near destinations, including prices, specials, distance away, hours of operation, number of handicapped-driver spaces, and more. Drivers will also have the option to reserve parking in advance of reaching their destination. This partnership with Spark Parking allows ParkWhiz to also display real-time availability of parking spaces – your mobile phone can now inform you if your preferred parking lot or garage is full. In the future, you’ll even be able to find street parking spaces via your mobile phone.

“Parking your car can be a frustrating experience for consumers,” said Aashish Dalal, CEO of ParkWhiz. “By having access to detailed parking information and the option to reserve your spot before you reach your destination can save consumers time, money, and frustration.” In addition to local GPS-powered searches, customers can also use ParkWhiz Mobile to search for parking by entering a city, state and zip code, save their favorite locations to the phone, and map their current location and all the available parking nearby.

As a semifinalist in the NAVTEQ Global LBS Challenge, ParkWhiz will be competing for the grand prize next week in Orlando, Florida at the CTIA Wireless conference. The winners will be announced on March 28th. While ParkWhiz Mobile is not yet commercially available, the company is in talks with several mobile carriers to carry the application on their networks.

The City of Emeryville, CA has selected Spark Parking to track parking utilization and length of stay in a rapidly growing mixed-use neighborhood. Better parking data will enable Emeryville officials to understand the impact of new housing and retail development in the area, supporting recommendations from a parking management plan process commencing in early April.

Spark Parking CEO, Cooper Marcus, recently joined a panel of other parking technology experts at the Green California Summit, extolling the virtues of smart parking and transportation initiatives to reduce congestion and lower emissions. The workshop, entitled "Smart Parking: Moving Research into Reality", was sponsored by California PATH and the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center and included speakers from BART, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), and Caltrans, as well as many more.

Over the past few months, Spark Parking CEO Cooper Marcus has been sharing his vision of enabling smart parking decisions through wireless sensor technology with parking industry leaders, government officials, and technology gurus. Recent conference presentations have included: California Downtown Association, Southwest Parking Association, International Downtown Association, and Wireless Communications Alliance. With topics ranging from parking as an economic development tool to the coolness of wireless parking, audience feedback was excellent. Stay tuned to our website for future Spark Parking conference and workshop appearances.

Spark Parking has implemented our monitoring services in a parking garage in Portland, Oregon. Serving customers for several adjacent retail stores, the free parking garage has time limits that are enforced by our customer, Northwest Parking Control (NPC). Spark Parking's surveying and enforcement notification services streamline NPC patrolling while offering the garage owner and nearby merchants accurate reports of parking behavior in the facility. A white paper describing the informational and efficiency benefits of Spark Parking's services is in development and will be available in the coming months.

Rich Liebling has joined the Spark Parking team as the VP of Engineering. In that role, Rich will oversee the company's software development and hardware integration, as well as data center operations, network administration, and all corporate IT operations. A true IT jack of all trades, Rich brings with him years of technology and project management experience developing web and telephony services. Most recently with Tellme and Hipbone, Rich's combination of technical skills and strategic business thinking will help Spark Parking accelerate our development and sales efforts.

In late April 2006, Spark Parking CEO Cooper Marcus presented an overview of wireless parking in front of hundreds of City officials, wireless technology experts, and media representatives. The event was organized by the Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network to commemorate the release of the Request for Proposal for a wireless network deployed across Silicon Valley. Presenting Spark Parking as a highly valuable application for a municipal wireless network, Cooper highlighted the cost savings and revenue enhancement that result from using Spark Parking's services. David Johnson, Business Development Manager at the City of Menlo Park, shared the stage with Cooper, providing his perspective on how Menlo Park continues to leverage its wireless infrastructure for parking, enforcement, and other City services. To view the full event, check out the webcast by clicking here. (Jump to the 59-minute mark in the video for Cooper's short presentation)

Spark Parking showcased our unique parking services at the Smart Parking Conference, organized by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group in San Jose on March 8th. The event drew over 150 public parking officials and private parking owners from across the Bay Area who are looking for creative solutions to the parking issues that plague local cities. Keynote speaker, Professor Don Shoup, extolled the virtues of parking benefit districts and flexible on-street pricing, paving the way for Spark Parking to demonstrate how our services can help cities monitor and manage parking by objective. Following the event, Spark Parking received a mention in Mike Langberg's column in the San Jose Mercury News, highlighting our growing traction with local cities.

For more information about Spark Parking, visit our homepage at www.sparkparking.com

Riding the momentum of a successful exhibit at the O'Reilly Emerging Telephony Conference in January, Spark Parking was recently featured during a segment on the popular Bay Area radio show "O'Donnell on Technology," hosted by Bob O'Donnell and heard on KSFO 560AM on Saturday mornings. During the segment, Dr. ROM (known in the real world as Rick Alber) highlighted the technology behind Spark Parking, showcasing our use of open source telephony products and the "advantages of real-time information about where cars are parked" for cities and private parking owners. Impressed by the range of companies presenting at the Emerging Telephony Conference, Dr. ROM cited Spark Parking as "a great example of how people are cleverly applying new technologies and new capabilities to improve the world around them."

Listen to the full radio segment here.

Stress, frustration, feeding the meter, expensive tickets ... parking is just one of those inevitable hassles of life, right? Not anymore. Forget about scrounging for quarters, getting a ticket if your meeting runs long, or dealing with surly parking attendants. Spark Parking will offer the first public demonstration of its driver-friendly mobile-phone payment system for parking at the O'Reilly Emerging Telephony Conference in San Francisco, CA on Jan 25.

Spark Parking uses high technology to make paying for your parking quick and easy. Simply drive in to any Spark Parking space and make one brief call from your mobile phone. Then, go enjoy yourself for as long as you like. No need to worry about feeding the meter!

"Spark Parking simplifies the entire parking access and payment process by allowing parkers to 'log in' to their parking spot using their cell phone. Ingenious!" says Ted Wallingford of the VoIP Weblog.

The Spark Parking System, built from a unique combination of open-source telephony software and wireless sensor hardware, offers drivers relief from parking headaches with a simple phone call.

"There are a few cell-phone parking payment systems out there, but Spark Parking has done it right. They make it quick and easy to pay for your parking space and you never have to worry about paying too much or too little. The Spark Parking System keeps track and always charges just the right amount!" says Brian Thompson, General Manager of Northwest Parking Control in Portland, Oregon.

During a three-day event, the Spark Parking team joined 39 other teams at "The Super Bowl of World Business-Plan Competition" in Austin, TX. The competition brings together winners from business plan competitions around the world to present side-by-side in an effort to win the $100,000 capital investment from the MOOT CORP Pontoon Fund.

Qualifying because of its victory in the Northwest Venture Championship in Boise, ID, Spark Parking management again successfully presented how the company's technology-based service solves the parking frustrations experienced by drivers and parking owners across the country. As a result, the company emerged from the first round to be one of the ten semifinalists at the competition.

Thanks to the MOOT CORP staff, event sponsors, and distinguished judges for organizing and participating in the competition. We wish graduate teams luck in their efforts to qualify for the 2006 competition.

Click here for more information about the event.

During a three-day event, the Spark Parking team was once again given the opportunity to present its unique business plan at the 2005 Rice University Business Plan Competition. Selected to present from over 130 business plan submissions, Spark Parking competed against 35 other entrepreneurial teams from top graduate universities around the world in a quest for the first place prize of committed capital in the amount of $100,000. Impressed by the diversity of business plans (ranging from drug delivery technology to dehydrated Mexican food) and the caliber of presentations, Spark Parking was excited to emerge as one of the seven finalists.

In a highly competitive final round in front of over 130 judges representing a "who's who" in the Texas entrepreneurship community, Spark Parking captured second place and received interest from a number of venture capitalists and angel investors in the audience. Kudos to the Rice University staff, event sponsors, and distinguished judges for organizing and participating in the largest university-run intercollegiate business plan competition. We highly encourage graduate teams to consider applying for the 2006 competition to be held March 30 - April 1.

Click here for more information about the event.

From April 4 - 5, 2005, the Spark Parking team was given the opportunity to present its business plan at the 2005 Northwest Venture Championship held at Boise State University. During the competition, Spark Parking heard dozens of outstanding business plans from leading undergraduate and graduate universities around the world. Despite such strong competition, the management team successfully impressed a judging panel consisting of numerous venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and law partners throughout the greater Northwest.

By demonstrating the value to parking owners as well as drivers, Spark Parking captured first place in the competition. The victory guaranteed the business a place in the Global MOOT CORP Competition in Austin, TX in May. Thanks to the Boise State University staff (especially Kent Neupert), event sponsors, and distinguished judges for a very well-run event. We highly encourage graduate teams to consider applying for the 2006 competition to be held March 22-24.

Click here for more information about the event.

Over four days from March 9-12, 2005, the Spark Parking team was given the opportunity to present its business plan at the 2005 University of San Francisco - Pacific Specialty Insurance International Business Plan Competition. Selected to present from approximately 100 business plan submissions, Spark Parking competed against entrepreneurial teams from leading graduate universities around the world. Throughout the event, Spark Parking managed to impress a judging panel consisting of over 60 venture capital partners, law partners, and CEOs, as well as public audiences which numbered more than 300 at some of the sessions.

After the smoke cleared and the dust settled, Spark Parking was proud to be the second place winner. Thanks to the USF staff, event sponsors, and distinguished judges for ensuring such an excellent event. We highly encourage graduate teams to consider applying for the 2006 competition to be held March 23-26.

Click here for more information about the event.