A Chicago-based e-parking platform has officially launched in Canada and as of today is offering its services to travellers looking to pre-book parking spaces at Toronto Pearson International.
ParkWhiz is a mobile parking platform that allows parking lot operators to connect with drivers for discovering, booking and paying for parking spaces in advance. At the beginning of October, the U.S. company expanded its services to the city of Toronto and is now expanding to Toronto Pearson International Airport as well.
According to a press release, starting today travellers looking to park their cars before a flight out of Pearson will have access to parking spaces through ParkWhiz’s platform.
ParkWhiz started in 2007 but just recently moved to Canada. It is backed by newly formed Alate Partners, (a property technology/proptech businesses and investor for real estate technology), and has received $25 million from investors including Alate in a recent series D funding round.
Touting itself as a “fast and convenient way for drivers to find and book parking,” drivers can access the platform through its website or mobile app. Entering the desired parking address or location brings up nearby parking lots and prices, allowing the user to reserve said spot.
In October ParkWhiz announced 150 parking locations across downtown Toronto. Today it announced partnerships with locations close to the airport including Daily Park garages at Terminal 1 and 3, Value Park garages as well as the airport’s Valet Care services.
“We are committed to providing passengers with more choice, value and convenience when parking onsite at Toronto Pearson International Airport,” Scott Collier, VP of customer and terminal services at Pearson said in the release.
“ParkWhiz reflects this mission by giving our passengers another channel to reserve their parking. Airport parking is a key part of the passenger experience and this easy-to-use technology solution supports our goal to become the best airport in the world,” he stated.
ParkWhiz says it also works with distribution partners like Ford, Groupon and Ticketmaster to allow drivers to purchase parking when they are buying event tickets.
According to its press release it “offers drivers up to 50 per cent off standard drive-up rates.” It is currently available 230 cities, mainly in the U.S. but has expressed plans to move into other Canadian cities as well.
Correction: A previous version stated that Alate had invested $20 million into ParkWhiz, that is not the case and the story has been updated to reflect the correct amount and notes that Alate is one investor that helped raise the funding.Â
