The proponent to improve mobility in the city opined that an Airbnb-like app that could get a driver a parking slot in unused spaces or house garages for a fee could help solve the traffic mess in the city, especially during weekends.
MPT Mobility vice president Mark Richmond de Leon observed the need to ease traffic in the city caused by out-of-town vehicle owners who just roam around the city in the hope of finding a parking space.
While tourists with vehicles comprise only 20 percent of vehicles that take up city road space during weekends, their numbers cause the usual weekend traffic nightmare.
De Leon said these vehicles need to be taken out of the city roads, and maybe come up with an Airbnb-like app for parking where garage owners or even those living in condominiums that have parking spots could offer their empty parking spaces.
De Leon is taking a cue from ParkStash, a San Jose, California-based company that offers an app for parking. The app was designed by a former San Jose University student who used to arrive for class late because he could not park his car at the school parking lot. Some 15,000 students compete for the 5,000 slots the university offers. Students pay US$192 per semester for a car pass.
While driving around the town to look for a parking space near his school, ParkStash founder Sameer Saran saw empty driveways near his campus that prompted him to ask the homeowners to share their empty driveways for a fee.
In January 2019, the ParkStash app, patterned after Airbnb, was launched, connecting drivers
to homeowners with empty driveways for a fee.
MPT Mobility is offering a smart urban project for Baguio that will improve mobility within the car-clogged city streets. It includes a public transport management system, a smart parking management and enforcement systems, as well as congestion fee charging. The last, however, is not popular among locals fearing that they will be charged PhP250 to enter the central business district. By Pigeon Lobien
