Valet Park Anywhere in Philly with New App

Luxe is coming to Philly.

Parking in Philadelphia is notoriously bad. Good luck finding a public space during peek times, parking lots are expensive and often crowded, and the Philadelphia Parking Authority is always ready to pounce.

But a slew of app-based solutions are on their way.

Today, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported that Luxe — a San Francisco-based valet-parking app — is se to launch in Philly by the end of the summer. Luxe will pick up your car anywhere then store it in a secure lot. Then it delivers your car back to you — even if you’re in a different location. The company says it costs about $5 per hour. It’ll even wash it and fill it up with gas if you pay extra.

The service will start in Center City then expand from there.

The PBJ spoke to CEO Curtis Lee (a Wharton grad) who said: “We are providing a service that’s beneficial to city dwellers. Thirty percent of traffic is accountable by people who are searching or circling for parking. Frankly, eliminating that out of the equation, that’s a big plus for any kind of city.”

Luxe is just the latest parking app to announce a Philadelphia expansion. An app called Spot bills itself as the Airbnb of parking, and says it’s rolling out a Philly launch by the end of the year. It allows drivers to rent out private parking spaces by the hour. Parking spot owners set the price and the amount of time that a driver can rent a spot. Founder and CEO Braden Golub told me back in April that it’s typically 40 percent to 60 percent cheaper than parking in a lot.

The PPA has also created its own app, which will allow users to pay for parking at meters or in lots with their smartphones. It teamed up with Pango (a company that’s soon moving to Philly) to deliver the new app-based payment option. When up-and-running, the mobile app will cover parking between 4th and 20th Streets, and between Arch and Locust Streets. It will also be available on Columbus Blvd. from Spring Garden to Race Streets and at two parking lots — the Torresdale Rail Station lot and the 8th and Chestnut Street lot.

Another app, called ParkMe allows users to search for paid parking near their exact location and tells them how much they should expect to pay before they arrive. It also allows people to reserve spots in lots or garages.

One app that likely won’t make it here is MonkeyParking, which allows people to auction off public parking spaces. Councilman Bill Greenlee is working on a plan to make such services illegal.