Living in a car-crazed (crazy about; very interested in) city like Los Angeles, I find one of the most stressful parts of my week is when I need to find a place to park my car in the city. Most crowded, popular streets have parking meters, which are machines into which you must put anywhere from (ranging from) 50 cents to $2.00 per (each) hour in order to park in that space. During the busy times of the day, people looking for a parking space will sometimes follow someone they see walking toward their parked car, in the hopes (with the expectation) that they will be able to park in that same space when the other person leaves. (This happens especially during the Christmas holiday shopping season.)
Sometimes I have someone follow me to my car, hoping for my spot (parking space), and I often think to myself, “Well, how much will you pay me to get my parking spot?” If only, I think, I could auction off my space to the highest bidder! (To auction off means to sell to the person who will give you the highest price; the person who bids, or offers you money, is called a bidder.) Well, if I lived in New York City, I could actually do that – sell my parking space to someone.
In New York City, many of the city’s parking spaces have no parking meters. Because they are free, there are even more people trying to find an empty one to use. Thanks to a company called StreetParkNYC (New York City), you can now advertise and sell a parking spot you are going to vacate (leave) through an iPhone application (software program). Using your iPhone, you tell the program the address where your car is located and the time you are going to leave your parking space. Other people looking for a parking spot can then pay StreetParkNYC $5.00 to get that address and time (only one person can buy that information, of course). The other driver then drives to that address, waits for you to leave, and gets your parking space. You get $3.00, StreetParkNYC gets $2.00, and everyone is happy.
Is selling parking spots, especially free parking spots on the public street, a good idea? I only know that if someone gave me $3.00 for my parking spot, I wouldn’t say no to the money.
P. S. The word “bud” in the title of this post is a short version of buddy, an old, informal term for “guy” or “person.”
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)