WhereiPark Changes Toronto’s Rental Parking Landscape

If you think looking for a parking spot during an evening out in Toronto is difficult, try searching for monthly parking.

Up until this week, there was no place other than Craigslist and Kijiji to find a place to park. And it was a total process.

Enter WhereiPark.

In a nutshell:
WhereiPark is a web-based marketplace that connects people looking for monthly parking with those who have vacant spots (parking lot operators or property owners).

Why you should/could care:
If you drive to work (with the state of the TTC these days, we can’t say we blame you) and are looking for a spot to rent, WhereiPark makes the whole process simple and less swearword-provoking. It’s easy to quickly weigh options and make an informed decision with the service – all you have to do is enter an address or intersection, see what’s available currently in that area, compare available rates, and book with a credit card. Done.

On the flip side, how many young professionals do you know with a vacant parking spot in their home or condo that’s collecting dust? WiP can help them find a person who wants to rent that spot. Anyone with extra parking can easily create their listing, and that person must be approved before they can publish parking.

The locations:
With the Toronto launch, many parts of the city are represented. Most of the lots are in high-density areas in the downtown core, Yonge and Eglinton and Liberty Village.

The inspiration:
Like many entrepreneurial endeavours, the idea stemmed from personal frustrations.

“Back in February, I was looking for a monthly parking spot around Adelaide and Peter. My last two monthly parking spots downtown were around $175 monthly, so $200 was the ceiling on what I was looking to pay,” said WhereiPark co-founder Alex Enchin. “I searched on foot and visited a few lots in the area and was shocked to discover that everything (around there) was well over $300/month. I took my search online and quickly found that there were next to no resources at my disposal. I remember at the time thinking to myself, I cannot believe that there is not an aggregated marketplace of parking spots where I can find a spot and book online with my Amex.”

The team:
Over the next month or so after that, Enchin and his friend and business partner, Jeremy Zuker, were brainstorming new businesses to start and he kept coming back to the parking experience. It was a problem worth fixing.

If their track record in successful startups is any indication, the company is positioned to prosper under Zuker and Enchin. 

In 2009, Zuker started group-buying website WagJag and Enchin was the first full-timer to join him and help build the company. They sold WagJag to Torstar Corp in June, 2010, and continued to work there until 2013, at which time WagJag had about three million members in Canada and tens of thousands of merchant partners. Not bad.

Check out WhereiPark for yourself if you’re looking for a place to park or to make a little extra cash of that empty spot, .

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