- Kenwood First to Implement Parking in New In-Dash Receivers; INRIX Launches Traffic Information Service in China; New INRIX Traffic App Gets Social

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- INRIX®, a leading international provider of traffic information and driver services, launched at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) the industry's first parking navigation service. 

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130107/SF37615-a)
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130107/SF37615-b)
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130107/SF37615-c)

As a real-time connected service, INRIX Parking goes beyond static parking Points of Interest (POIs) to provide the current cost to park, real-time information on the number of available spaces and detailed location information for a continuously expanding and updated database of off street parking locations in North America and 36 countries throughout Europe. 

"INRIX is connecting the car to the apps and services people need now to enhance the driving experience," said Bryan Mistele, president and CEO of INRIX.  "By making it easier for people to find a place to park, we help reduce traffic congestion for everyone."

Kenwood will be the first consumer electronics manufacturer to implement INRIX Parking in its new in-dash DVD entertainment receivers debuting at CES.  As the industry's first aftermarket receivers with built-in WiFi communication capabilities via Kenwood's cloud services, INRIX provides owners of the Excelon DNN990HD and DNN770HD receivers with up-to-the-minute traffic information, parking, fuel and weather services designed to help drivers save time, fuel and frustration wherever their travels take them.

Experts estimate drivers searching for a parking space accounts for 30 per cent of all urban traffic congestion[3].  A global survey of commuters in 20 international cities conducted by IBM found that nearly six out of 10 drivers has abandoned their search for a parking space at least once and drivers often spend an average of nearly 20 minutes in pursuit of a coveted spot.[1]

INRIX Parking solves this problem helping drivers quickly identify and navigate to the entrance of their preferred parking location most convenient to their destination.  The INRIX database includes more than 18,000 parking facilities in North America and 42,000 in Europe sourced both for in-car and mobile use from leading providers ParkMe and Parkopedia. 

"Through our partnership with leading traffic provider, INRIX, we will bring the industry an automotive grade parking service to drivers in North America," said Sam Friedman CEO and co-founder of ParkMe. "This partnership is another major step in ParkMe's mission to improve navigation by fundamentally changing the way drivers search for parking."

Added Parkopedia CEO Eugene Tsyrklevich, "In the era of the connected car, driver access to dynamic parking information is not just a necessity, it's a requirement.  We're excited to work with INRIX to deliver premium services to the automakers."

Other new INRIX-powered products, services and customers announced at CES include:

• Premium Traffic Services in China.  INRIX opened offices in Beijing partnering with China's leading traffic information provider CenNavi to deliver premium real-time, predictive and historical traffic services in 28 cities across China.  The collaboration leverages INRIX's sophisticated Traffic Intelligence Platform, vertical market expertise and connected services technologies with CenNavi's real-time traffic information and technologies, deep domestic experience and automotive relationships. The partnership furthers both companies' efforts to deliver premium traffic information, traffic-powered applications and analytics to help automakers, government agencies, mobile app providers, wireless carriers, and media companies improve mobility for drivers in the fastest growing and largest automotive market in the world.

"We look forward to working with INRIX applying our combined expertise to solve one of China's biggest problems," said Haijun Tao, president of CenNavi.  "This problem presents us with a significant market opportunity to deliver to automakers, mobile navigation app providers and municipalities high quality traffic information and applications that improve urban mobility for everyone in China."

• New INRIX Traffic App for iPhone and Android.  With drivers wasting up to 80 hours last year in the world's worst traffic cities[2], INRIX Traffic helps cut the cost of gridlock with several new feature benefits including:
  • Glance n' Go:  INRIX Traffic makes it easy to quickly tell if traffic is better or worse than normal for a particular time and day of the week.  Drivers instantly see trouble spots along their route giving them the ability to identify major delays and faster routes to their destination before it's too late.
  • Social Network Traffic Alerts:  With Facebook, Twitter, text and email integration, drivers can alert friends and family members in their social networks as well as other INRIX Traffic to accidents, construction and other traffic-causing delays to avoid on the road. 
  • INRIX Departure Times:  Eliminate the guess work of when to leave or how long it'll take to get there.  An accident causing serious delays on your route home?  Is it better to leave the office now or stay and get a few things done while the traffic dies down?  INRIX Traffic provides insight into the best time to leave to help you be there on time for the important people and events in your life.  INRIX Traffic also lets you share your arrival time via text or email letting friends and family know when you'll be there, taking the "E" out of ETA.

About INRIX

INRIX® is a leading traffic intelligence platform delivering smart data and advanced analytics to solve transportation issues worldwide. INRIX crowd sources real-time data from approximately 100 million vehicles and devices to deliver traffic and driving-related insight, as well as sophisticated analytical tools and services, across five industries in 32 countries.

With more than 200 customers and partners including Audi, ADAC, ANWB, BMW, the BBC, Ford Motor Company, the I-95 Coalition, MapQuest, Microsoft, NAVIGON, Telmap, Toyota and Vodafone, INRIX's real-time traffic information and traffic forecasts help drivers save time every day. 

[1] IBM Commuter Pain Survey http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/35514.wss

[2] INRIX Traffic Scorecard, http://scorecard.inrix.com/scorecard/

[3] "The High Cost of Free Parking," Donald Shoup. American Planning Association Publisher 2011.