Peter Park: Reducing Unused Space and Parking Traffic

The Munich startup Peter Park has a vision to turn parking lots into mobility hubs. The team has developed a software for just that, which uses license plate recognition technology to digitally manage parking lots. The system by the startup located in the startup center Werk1 is already being used across Germany. An interview with its four founders.

Munich Startup: Who are you and what do you do?

Peter Park: We offer parking lot operators a cloud based B2B platform to efficiently manage parking lots and parking garages. License plates are scanned when cars enter and leave the lot. The software automatically records the parking process in compliance with data protection. That completely eliminates boom barriers or the need to check parking discs. Parking lot users can also pay using parking apps or by entering their license number in the payment station.

Our management team includes Maximilian Schlereth (CEO, 27 years old), Florian Schaule (CTO, 30 years old), Patrick Bartler (COO, 28 years old) and Stefan Schenk (CBDO, 27 years old). Maximilian and Florian met while working on a previous project in the field of parking. Florian, Patrick and Stefan knew each other from their time together working on their MBAs at Collège des Ingénieurs (CDI). Together, we recognized the potential of digitizing the parking industry and are now working on directly implementing that with our team.

Peter Park: Parking lots to become multifaceted mobility hubs

Munich Startup: But that’s nothing out of the box!

Peter Park: We’re looking to establish long term cooperation: With our solution, we’re specifically addressing the needs of parking lot operators. We’re also working closely with established parking app providers to offer convenient payment options with a smartphone.

A further aspect is tapping into new use cases and sustainability. With Peter Park, for example, empty supermarket parking lots could be made available to local residents at night. That would help cities reduce the amount of area eaten up by parking lots and to get a handle on the daily traffic caused by local residents looking for parking spaces.

Our vision is to transform parking lots into multifaceted mobility hubs with flexible interfaces for different kinds of mobility services, such as e-charging stations or last mile solutions.

Munich Startup: What are the three main ingredients in your recipe for success?

  • Process expertise: We have a deep understanding of processes in the parking industry and have connected this expertise with digital know-how.
  • Partnerships: We want to grow together with partnerships, for example with Parkster or Bosch’s ‘Security and Safety Things.’
  • Team: Every one of our employees is an absolute team player.

Already used in 30 cities

Munich Startup: How is business going?

Peter Park: We’re growing steadily. Our system is used across Germany in more than 50 parking lots in 30 cities.

Munich Startup: What does Munich mean to you?

Peter Park: We all have strong personal ties to Munich and the local ecosystem (TUM, LMU, CDTM and CDI). With Werk1, we’ve also now found our home with an amazing community.

Munich’s strong B2B and tech focus makes it possible for us to find talent for our growing team. Moreover, Munich is the central Hub for Mobility in Germany. We want to develop together with other startups and partners in this cluster. The whole environment, combined with our private networks, offers us the ideal framework for Peter Park.

Munich Startup: How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we be seeing you at an Epic Fail Night soon?

Peter Park: We’re on our way to becoming the leading software for smart management of parking lots.

Munich Startup: Get up early in the morning or pull all-nighters?

Peter Park: Early birds. We get to work first thing in the morning.