Philly Parking Will Get Easier With New App

There’s no sugarcoating the issue – parking in Philadelphia is a real pain. Not only can it be hard to find a spot, but paying for your spot once you’ve found it can be nothing short of a nightmare. Coming this summer, however, is a parking solution that should have area drivers cheering.

A map shows the area covered by the initial Pango rollout in Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Parking Authority has teamed with payments processor Pango to come out with an app that will allow drivers to pay for parking with their phones. As a bonus, the app will also send alerts when parking time is about to be up, allowing drivers to simply re-up their parking time without going out to a meter. If drivers use Pango smartly, there need not be any $36 parking tickets from the city.

The Pango app will roll out mid-summer for a six-month trial period to see how residents respond. At first, the app will only cover the Washington Square area. Rates are still being worked out, but city officials have stated that there is a possibility of fees going up each time the parking period is extended. For instance, if street parking is $2 for a 2-hour time limit, extending the time another two hours to get to four hours may cost $4. Such pricing would hopefully encourage parking spot turnover, which officials say is a considerable problem throughout the city. There will still be kiosks and standalone meters throughout the city.

The app came about despite the fact that the mayor’s office expressed concerns about potential lost revenue from parking tickets impacting funding of the school system.