ParkingCarma, Flint MI, has received $5.5 million in federal funding for an intelligent transportation systems (ITS) truck parking solution for the West Coast's Interstate 5, according to company information.
Truckers will be able to access data about available parking spaces via cell phone, the Internet, or an onboard computer.
Interstate-5 is one of two interstates selected under the Corridors of the Future Program, part of the Department of Transportation's $11 million national congestion initiative. The East Coast's I-95 also will receive funding. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) was awarded the I-5 contract for the use of ITS technology to provide truckers with real-time information on available parking. As part of the program, Caltrans, in partnership with ParkingCarma; NAVTEQ, Chicago IL (a provider of digital map data); and the University of California Berkeley/Transportation Sustainability Research Center, will monitor parking availability and transmit the updates to truckers.
The I-5 carries between 15,000 and 40,000 trucks a day, and has grown nearly 17 percent over the last ten years.