BOC Week 6: Parking Panda

While cities like Las Vegas, weekdays are usually to be opened with parking spots and traffic is light. On the weekend, it’s a completely different story. Cities like Chicago and New York are filled to the brim every day of the week. If you have ever been to a major city, the biggest thing you dread besides traffic is parking. Parking Panda is trying to change all that.  City parking mainly consists of spending fifteen to twenty dollars and then driving around to just find a spot.  Parking Panda is a cell phone application that shows avabile parking spots near your application. “Parking Panda is a win-win for both parking spot owners, who can earn extra cash with very little effort, and those looking for parking, who will likely end up spending far less than they would in a big lot.” “Using the service is simple: Parking spot owners need only sign up for an account, take a photo and create a description of their available spot, then mark down the dates and price. Those looking for a spot can find and pay for one via the Parking Panda website, which also sports a mobile optimized interface. Once a spot is rented, the owner will eventually get a check (minus Parking Panda’s 20 percent commission) in the mail.” How users sell the parking spaces is even easier. “Renting out your own parking spot is a simple process. You can connect to Facebook to import your basic details, then set a price and schedule to announce your spot’s availability. You’ll receive an email when someone has made a booking. Parking Panda will take a 20% cut.” Various competitors is in the works to try and corner the market, but Parking Panda is still in the lead. “But for tourists or urban newcomers, a well-chosen app, like PrimoSpot ($3 on Android and Apple) or ParkDroid (free on Android), offers cheap protection against that blood-draining moment when you can’t find your car and fear it has been towed or stolen. Some of the most promising parking-related apps, like Google’s OpenSpot (free on Android) and TakeMySpot (free on Apple), offer users the greater hope of finding empty parking spots as they materialize. Sadly, they don’t work — at least not yet.”