Bain Capital Ventures invests $43 million in Passport

December 20, 2017

Leading market position and significant traction drives investment to accelerate growth

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 20, 2017 — Passport, the world’s leader in mobile payments for the transportation industry, announces it has raised an additional $43 million in Series C funding led by Bain Capital Ventures, one of the world’s leading growth equity firms. The deal is the third round of funding for Passport, bringing the total invested capital to $60 million. Bain Capital Ventures joins existing investors Grotech Ventures, MK Capital and Relevance Capital.

Passport has seen vigorous growth of 352 percent within the past three years. Since last year, Passport has grown its staff to nearly 100 employees with plans to hire 50 more in 2018. Building on this momentum, Passport will use the supplemental financing to continue expanding its global reach, accelerate product growth and innovation, invest in additional sales and marketing resources, and continue evaluating strategic acquisition opportunities.

“We welcome the Bain Capital Ventures team as partners who align really well with both our vision and our culture,” said Bob Youakim, Passport’s founder and CEO. “The new investment validates our position in the industry and gives us additional resources to expand quickly and strategically into new markets, innovate rapidly, and support our clients around the world. We believe that with technology we can affect meaningful change by improving the way people interact within their communities.”

Passport, known for powering cities with innovative technologies, has played a principal role in solving transportation problems within communities. These opportunities have propelled the fintech company to develop solutions specializing in parking, transit and tolling. This includes mobile payments for parking, mobile ticketing for transit, mobile cashless tolling, digital permits and citation management, allowing its clients to gain operational efficiencies.

Bain Capital Ventures Managing Director, Matt Harris, said his firm aims to create partnerships with exceptional founders and management teams to help them successfully grow their businesses and better serve their customers.

“Having reviewed the industry, we believe Passport has emerged as the clear leader in the sector. Passport’s progressive and dynamic culture is exactly what we look for in a company,” Harris continued. “We believe Bob and his team have the industry experience and vision necessary to lead the revolution in this space.”

Passport aims to reduce operational complexity and deliver intelligent data to improve decision-making for its clients. With a laser focus on that objective, Passport is creating a platform which advances the operations within urban environments. To date, Passport has been incorporated by more than 450 agencies in over 5,000 locations worldwide, including Chicago, London, Toronto, Boston, Vancouver, Portland, Montreal and Miami.

About Passport
Passport transforms the way cities manage their operations. The fintech company’s mobile-first platform has been adopted by more than 450 cities, universities, and private operators around the world in cities including Chicago, Toronto, London, and Miami, across more than 5,000 locations. Passport’s product lines – parking, transit and tolling payments, parking enforcement, and permit management – enable organizations in the public and private sectors to streamline their operations, enhance customer service, and make data-driven decisions. Consistently recognized as one of the fastest growing companies and Best Places to Work in Charlotte, North Carolina, Passport has an ingrained practice of putting People First – a guiding principle in its culture.

Passport is backed by a group of investors, including Bain Capital Ventures, Grotech Ventures, MK Capital and Relevance Capital. Learn more, or get in touch with Passport at passportinc.com.

About Bain Capital Ventures
Bain Capital Ventures invests from seed- to growth-stage in fast-growing startups that are leveraging technology to disrupt existing markets or create entirely new ones. Our partners each have extensive operating experience and deep vertical expertise across a range of sectors, including infrastructure software, SaaS and data services, security, commerce, fintech, and healthcare. Since 1984, we’ve helped launch and commercialize more than 200 companies including select investments in Jet.com, DocuSign, SendGrid, AvidXchange, Kiva Systems, LinkedIn, InAuth, and SurveyMonkey. Through our affiliation with broader Bain Capital Private Equity, Public Equity, and debt funds, we have unparalleled access to Fortune 5000 companies and a global footprint of colleagues focused on helping our portfolio companies grow. BCV has approximately $3 billion of assets under management and offices in the Bay Area, New York City and Boston. Follow BCV at @BainCapVC or visit www.baincapitalventures.com.

Media Contact: Stacy Sneed
Marketing Communication Manager
Passport
704-823-6021
Stacy.Sneed@passportinc.com

Cale Takes 17 Mothers on a Christmas Shopping Spree

December 19, 2017

Making a difference in the lives of young mothers

Clearwater, FL – A gift may not change the world, it can, however, make a positive difference. On Friday, December 15th at 2pm at a Target in Clearwater, Florida, numerous shoppers witnessed how one organization found a way to make some spirits bright.

The Ready for Life, Inc. (RFL) Mommy and Me Support Group received some holiday cheer from Cale America to help several young mothers provide opportunities to create a sense of belonging and family tradition in their own homes, providing the the kind of Christmas they wish they would have had in their own turbulent childhoods.

17 young parents had the chance to shop with 40 Cale America Staff for Christmas gifts that they will get to give from Mommy to their children.

“This is a dream come true,” said one mom when she learned of the opportunity. “Christmas always brought a bitter-sweet, heart-sick feeling for me growing up because I never got that loving family moment where everyone unwraps their gift with awe and laughter. To be able to share that family feeling on Christmas with my own kids makes me forget about every bad Christmas I ever had.”

Kathy Mize, Ready for Life CEO, adds, ”The Holidays can be a very difficult time for the young adults who have transitioned out of foster care. The turbulence many face growing up in the system often leaves them without a sense of belonging, and their many disappointments often convince them that this special time of year will be no different than all the tough days they’ve been through. That’s where our RFL community comes in, especially CALE who help in so many ways.  Anything you’d do for your own kids is what we are up to on any given day of the week, and we couldn’t do this work without their amazing support.”

“We are humbled and thrilled to have partners like CALE,” said Michelle Walag, Ready for Life Director of Operations, ”…who take the time to understand what our youth face, and realize how important it is to help the RFL young adults to provide to their little ones the kinds of Christmas they wish they had growing up. Creating a sense of belonging is so important in breaking the generational cycles of abuse and neglect.”

Not only did Cale America staff settle with the cashiers upon check out, but they made sure the mothers  walked away with something for themselves. With both arm full with bags of new christmas toys, each mother was suprised with a $50 Spa Gift Certificate to help them relax from the holidays and stress of motherhood.

For more information, contact Julianne Wilhelm, Marketing Coordinator at Julianne.Wilhelm@CaleAmerica.com or visit CaleAmerica.com.

About Cale America:
Cale Group incorporates over 60 years of experience in the design and development of secure and innovative payment solutions for unattended parking and transit locations with cloud-based management applications. Headquartered in Kista, Sweden, the Cale Group has subsidiaries in ten countries and a network of partners in over 30 countries worldwide.Cale America Inc. was established in 2012 and is Cale’s largest subsidiary with systems installed in over 200 municipalities, campuses and privately-managed properties throughout the US, Puerto Rico and Bermuda.

About Ready for Life
Ready for Life, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to helping former foster care youth to make a successful transition to independence. Annually, RFL touches the lives of 425 young adults age 15-25 in Pinellas County, plus 98 of their children age 0-12. The tough truth is that youth enter the dependency system through no fault of their own, yet the trauma’s and challenges they face become theirs to deal with, especially after age 18. RFL lines up beside these resilient young people to help them fill in life skill and learning gaps that could stop them. With the help of an extraordinary community of mentors, volunteers and supporters, the youth served by RFL are  breaking through the statistics of this vulnerable population with dropping recidivism rates, increased college attendance, and successfully parenting their own children. To learn more please visit www.readyforlifepinellas.org.

Contact Information: Julianne Wilhelm, Marketing Coordinator
Cale America Inc.
13190 56th Court, Suite 401, Clearwater, FL 33760
727-471-4827
Julianne.Wilhelm@CaleAmerica.com
www.caleamerica.com

Enjoy the fun faster with mobile parking

December 19, 2017

Passport Canada app enables easier parking payments on the go

Windsor, Ontario (December 19, 2017) — There’s a lot to celebrate in Windsor this season — the City of Windsor marks its milestone 125th birthday, the province of Ontario honors its sesquicentennial and Canada commemorates 150 years as a nation. With the merriment of its anniversaries the City of Windsor takes another leap forward taking its citizens into the digital age of parking. Today, the city announced the arrival of the Passport Canada app. The app allows for users to park using their smartphones at any of the 3,000 parking spaces available in the city — 1,500 on-street spaces and 1,500 off-street spaces.

The City of Windsor and Passport, an innovative global leader in mobile payments for parking and transit, have partnered to make parking at this year’s festivities easier. Drivers in the city can download the app and pay for parking on-the-go without having to worry about digging for coins or waiting in long lines at the pay station on a cold day.  App users can also receive alerts and notifications about their parking sessions, extend their sessions remotely and view all parking history right from the convenience of their phones. Many area merchants will also offer parking validation codes available to its customers to make holiday shopping easier. Passport’s mobile payment platforms are available in Detroit through ParkDetroit and several cities throughout Ontario, including Timmins and North Bay. Passport also powers the Green P app in Toronto, the P$ Mobile app in Montreal and the EasyPark app in Vancouver.

The city’s supervisor of parking enforcement, Bill Kralovensky, said the app will not replace cash transactions for parking, and those who want to pay for parking the conventional way will still be able to do so.

“The app is another option for drivers and one we feel is more in keeping with the times,” said Kralovensky. “Everyone seems to have a smartphone these days but not everyone has coins in their pocket.”

Passport Client Success Manager Conor Buckley added, “Passport is excited to partner with the City of Windsor on this launch of mobile payment services for parking. Bill and his team are excellent partners and we are proud to provide our technology to parkers in the City.”

Passport Canada is free to download from the App Store and Google Play. The app is available where users see Passport Canada signage. Users can also manage their parking at ppprkca.com.

About Passport
Passport is the industry’s leading mobile technology solution specializing in enterprise business applications and payments for the public and private sector. Passport’s product lines–parking payments, transit payments, enforcement and permit management–collectively serve to deliver dynamic tools for agencies to better connect with their communities. Its services have been adopted by over 400 agencies on over 3,000 locations globally including Chicago, Toronto, Boston, Portland, Montreal, and Miami. Passport’s mission is to reduce operational complexity and deliver intelligent data to improve decision making for its clients. Passport is backed by a group of investors, including Grotech Ventures, Relevance Capital, and MK Capital. For more information, please visit passportinc.com.

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Media Contact: Stacy Sneed
Marketing & Communication Manager
Passport
(704) 823-6021
stacy.sneed@passportinc.com

Parking Reservation Software Soon to Release Version 2.0

December 19, 2017

PRS parking management system will offer targeted parking solutions for partners and customers, with new technology rolling out early 2018.

Leading software provider Parking Reservation Software (PRS) announced today plans to release a major upgrade to their platform smartLUIS, an exceptional real-time central reservation system (CRS) built exclusively for parking.

The upgraded smartLUIS, 2.0 will better serve existing and new clients with enhancements such as a POS system, multi-tiered price optimization, rate management now customized for cruise port and event-based parking, and full interface with Google Analytics. The new release will go live in Q1 of 2018.

The PRS system brings reservation technology and marketing together for a powerful combination that drives parkers to client websites where they can secure online prepaid parking reservations. The technology is driven by a cloud-based CRS and can be optimized for laptops, desktops, tablets and smart phones. Operators have complete control over reservations, payments, dynamic pricing, inventory control, customer loyalty rewards and consumer marketing. The software can also manage multiple parking locations from a CRS that can simultaneously handle pricing and payments and provide reports with real-time information.

On the marketing side, PRS offers a variety of services and products to easily engage a client’s customer base. PRS provides customers with the tools to promote parking location and online booking via a website that is mobile responsive. PRS also offers marketing expertise in social media, email, video and content marketing.

“We are excited about the new smartLUIS 2.0 release because it keeps PRS in the lead in the fast-moving parking industry in terms of utilizing technology and meeting the needs of customers of all sizes,” says PRS CEO Bill Plamondon. “Already the most comprehensive reservation software in parking, the new release allows PRS to provide innovative solutions for everything from the latest PARCS technologies to end user preferences. PRS is uniquely designed to meet the rising demands of both the transportation industry and consumers.”

For more information, visit PRS.

About Parking Reservation Software (PRS)
PRS is a scalable parking software solution for privately owned or government entity parking operations. Built to help operations run smoothly, increase reservations through marketing services and enhance customer experience, PRS is a comprehensive solution for any size parking operation. PRS has extensive experience in a variety of parking niches such as off-airport parking, off-cruise port parking, hotel parking, downtown parking and event parking.

Contact Information – Candice Knight
Parking Reservation Software
https://www.parkingreservationsoftware.com/
(813) 336-3142

December 19, 2017

TransLink Park&Go App enables easy parking payments for Park and Ride customers in Metro Vancouver

Vancouver, British Columbia, (Dec. 18, 2017) — TransLink Park&Go, a free mobile payment app, has launched to provide Park and Ride customers a convenient way to pay for parking on-the-go.

Mobile payments leader, Passport, and TransLink partnered to develop and launch this app for TransLink’s nine Park and Ride lots in Metro Vancouver. The app is available for iOS and Android devices, and customers can also manage their parking at translinkparkandgo.ca.

With the app, customers can pay for parking while on transit, from home or in the office, without having to worry about digging for coins or heading to a machine. Other features include alerts and notifications about parking sessions, emailed receipts, promotional offers, and parking history.

“We are thrilled to roll out a personalized application for TransLink Park and Ride lots,” said Nathan Berry, sales executive at Passport.  “It is really important to Passport to make the parking experience as convenient as possible and the TransLink Park&Go app accomplishes this goal.”

“By partnering with Passport, we are making it easier and more convenient for our customers to pay for parking at our nine Park and Ride lots,” said Charles Froehlich, senior manager, TransLink commercial real estate. “It helps us deliver a better customer experience by providing modern and innovative ways to better serve customers who start their transit journey from a Park and Ride.”

About Passport

Passport is the industry’s leading mobile technology solution specializing in enterprise business applications and payments for the public and private sector. Passport’s product lines–parking payments, transit payments, enforcement and permit management–collectively serve to deliver dynamic tools for agencies to better connect with their communities. Its services have been adopted by over 400 agencies on over 3,000 locations globally including Chicago, Toronto, Boston, Portland, Westminster and Miami. Passport’s mission is to reduce operational complexity and deliver intelligent data to improve decision making for its clients. Passport is backed by a group of investors, including Grotech Ventures, Relevance Capital, and MK Capital. For more information, please visit www.passportinc.com.

About TransLink

TransLink is Metro Vancouver’s regional transportation authority that manages bus, SkyTrain, West Coast Express, SeaBus, HandyDART and cycling routes as well as the major road network and five bridges. These bridges include the Pattullo, Golden Ears, Knight Street, Westham Island and the Canada Line cycling and pedestrian bridge. TransLink is the first North American transportation authority to be responsible for planning, financing and managing public transit in addition to major regional roads and bridges.

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Media Contact: TransLink Media Relations
(778) 375-7788
media@translink.ca

Media Contact: Stacy Sneed
Marketing & Communications Manager
Passport
(704) 823-6021
stacy.sneed@passportinc.com

Smart Parking partners with Queenstown International Airport to reinvent the parking experience

December 19, 2017

Christmas is coming early at Queenstown Airport with the install of over 450 vehicle detection sensors, allowing Smart Parking’s SmartGuide solution to be deployed throughout its terminal car parks.

Queenstown, the ‘adventure capital of New Zealand’, is one of the country’s top tourist destinations. As the gateway to the city, it is important that the customer experience begins at the airport, where travellers are looking for a smooth and easy arrival or departure.

In an effort to aid seamless travel to and from the facility, Queenstown Airport is deploying Smart Parking’s SmartGuide solution throughout its terminal car parks prior to Christmas.

The 450+ vehicle detection sensors are installed to detect the presence of vehicles. The sensors transmit live occupancy information to Smart Parking’s SmartCloud data intelligence platform, which feeds the quantity, type and location of available spaces to dynamic signage that will be placed at the entrance to the airport and on the airport website alerting drivers to vacant bays.

The deployment of this new technology now means that travellers can easily see availability of bays, saving them time when flying from Queenstown Airport and providing them information early to make choices about where to park.

Newly appointed Queenstown Airport GM Commercial and Customer Experience Olivia Pierre says that the aim of the sensor technology is to help airport visitors make more informed choices about their parking and transport options.

“Over the last 18 months Queenstown Airport has invested over $4.2million in its ground transport and car parking offering to ensure an excellent customer experience for airport visitors and a wider choice of options when flying to and from Queenstown.

“Our main focus to date has been improving the parking infrastructure, including expanding our car parking by nearly 70%, bringing back the drop-off zone, and building a new roundabout and dedicated coach parks. The next step has been looking at technology solutions which will further enhance the customer experience.

“We’ve already rolled out ‘Tap & Go’ in the terminal car parks for ease of payment and radio-frequency identification (RFID) for commercial operators which provides a range of benefits.

“Sensor technology will now take us to the next level in providing real-time information. This will give airport visitors more control over their experience and take away the worry of whether there will be a car park for them,” she said.

Rebecca Grainger, NZ National Business Manager for Smart Parking, said “Working with the great team from Queenstown Airport has been an absolute pleasure, we started this technology partnership with the implementation of sensors in the taxi rank to allow taxis to have visibility of the rank whilst queueing off-site to reduce congestion.”

Smart Parking are now working with the Airport on Stage Two of the project which will see the majority of the bays located on the main site have sensors installed by Christmas, which will allow travellers and commuters to have visibility of parking availability and give Queenstown Airport that valuable data of their asset.

ENDS

Smart Parking Limited (ASX:SPZ) | A Global Parking Business

Smart Parking is leading the way in the delivery of proven, fully integrated end-to-end information technology that results in a transformation of the complete parking experience. This is based upon the ongoing exclusive innovations being progressively delivered and the extensive experience which it has developed. With over 40,000 vehicle detection sensors installed in 17 countries, in some of the industry’s largest deployments Smart Parking has achieved the position of holding the largest market share of the global intelligent parking sensor and integrated smart parking services market.

Media Contact

For further information, please contact: Rebecca Grainger

Smart Parking Technology Ltd, 583 Great South Road, Penrose, Auckland 1061

T: +64 (0)9 869 3001

Email: rebecca.grainger@smartparking.com or visit www.smartparking.com

Twitter http://twitter.com/smartparktech

INRIX Powers the World’s First On-Street Parking Service in a Connected Car

July 06, 2017

New research finds real-time parking availability is the most desired connected car navigation feature

Kirkland, WA – July 6, 2017 – INRIX, Inc., the world leader in connected car services and transportation analytics, today announced the availability of its On-Street Parking service in the new BMW 5 Series Sedan. INRIX delivers the industry’s first real-time on-street parking service in a connected car, which uses historical and up-to-the-minute parking data to predict the availability of parking spaces.

According to the recent INRIX Connected & Autonomous Vehicle Consumer Survey, 72 percent of respondents said real-time parking availability is the navigation feature they desire the most.

“Real-time parking is the most sought-after navigation feature because it addresses a pain point that affects everyone,” said Joe Berry, vice president and general manager of automotive at INRIX. “The first automotive deployment of INRIX On-Street Parking solidifies BMW’s position at the forefront of connected car technology with a focus on delivering the services drivers want the most.”

The BMW 5 Series also includes a real-time traffic service, powered by INRIX in North America, for up-to-the-minute and predictive traffic flow information for routes, travel times, and alerts to accidents and incidents on over five million miles of roads. INRIX Traffic incorporates information from its network of more than 300 million connected vehicles and devices in over 40 countries.

Notes to Editors
The INRIX On-Street Parking service is live with BMW Group in 16 cities in Germany and the U.S., with more cities set to launch in 2017. Initially, the service is available in Germany (Berlin, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart), and in the U.S. (Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.).

INRIX Parking provides the world’s largest parking database with more than 35 million spaces in 100,000 locations spanning 8,700 cities in more than 100 countries. Addressing a key customer need, dynamic occupancy information is also available for nearly 20,000 lots spanning more than 2,000 cities in 67 countries. Additionally, the patented INRIX On-Street Parking service leverages machine learning to deliver ground-truth tested dynamic occupancy predictions in nearly 40 cities globally, covering more than 200,000 individual street segments. INRIX is the preferred provider of parking information and services to leading automakers and app providers, as well as transportation agencies and drivers around the world.

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About INRIX
INRIX is the global leader in connected car services and transportation analytics. Leveraging big data and the cloud, INRIX delivers comprehensive services and solutions to help move people, cities and businesses forward. Our partners are automakers, governments, mobile operators, developers, advertisers, as well as enterprises large and small.

Two of the world’s biggest parking companies have recently hung up the FOR Sale sign.

July 06, 2017

Dutch Giant QPark have just put pen to paper in a deal with KKR a leading global investment firm for KKR to acquire 100% of the shares in QPark.  KKR  manages investments across multiple asset classes including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit and hedge funds. Q Park operates around 870,000 off-street spaces in ten European countries, with an annual  revenue of around $1bn.

At the same time Iberian giants EMPARK, which also operates over half  a million spaces on and off street across several European Countries is seeking interest from buyers with around I billion Euros and change for 100% of the equity. One of the features of the EMPAR portfolio is long-term nature of their business with an average contract term of thirty years in a market where contracts are often for less than ten years.

Control Systems Acquires EDJ Technologies

July 05, 2017

WEST HARTFORD, CT – June 30, 2017,  Control Systems, Inc. (“CSI”) is excited to announce that it has acquired Edj Technologies, LLC (“EDJ”) with offices in Orange, California.  CSI and EDJ both distribute DESIGNA parking access and revenue control systems (“PARCS”).  CSI and EDJ have combined to form a strong company with streamlined services and years of experience.  EDJ will immediately begin conducting its business as Control Systems, Inc.

CSI, organized in 1988, leads in the sales, installation, and service of PARCS from Maine to Virginia.  CSI is headquartered in West Hartford, CT and has additional offices in Piscataway, NJ and Glen Burnie, MD.  With over three decades of experience CSI delivers everything customers could expect, including outstanding service, twenty-four hour support seven days a week, and value added solutions.  CSI’s success in delivering integrated, turn-key solutions is a result of the passion of its team to deliver innovative technologically, superior products, unparalleled and unequal value, service and support for our customers.  CSI’s growing list of satisfied customers includes airports, property management companies, municipalities, hospitals, parking management firms, colleges/universities, and many other businesses.

Although EDJ has a new name, the commitment to providing superior customer service will only grow stronger through this change.  CSI is remaining at EDJ’s current offices and will provide the same services as were previously provided by EDJ.  CSI is confident and enthusiastic about the future, and the chance to meet and exceed our customer’s expectations.

Happy 4th of July from Parking Today Media!

July 02, 2017

The United States is the only country with a known birthday. All the rest began, they know not when, and grew into power, they know not how…. There is no “Republican,” no “Democrat,” on the Fourth of July, — all are Americans. ~James Gillespie Blaine

Our Parking Today Media Team is wishing everyone the most wonderful, blissful and filled with appreciation 4th of July.

Our ParkNews.biz newsletter is going to be on vacation this week resuming its publication again on July 10th, 2017.

Thank you for making ParkNews.biz most widely read Parking News site.  Please sent all your news and press releases to me, Astrid Ambroziak at astrid@parkingtoday.com . Thank you.

With Kindness and Appreciation,
Astrid Ambroziak
Editor, Parknews.biz