The Cost of Parking in DC

• April 30, 2012

by Shilpi Paul

Tight parking in Dupont Circle.

Parking Panda, a web service that connects parking space owners with car owners, just launched in the District last week. Like Airbnb does for houses and apartments for rent, Parking Panda allows owners to post their parking spaces on the site and set their own prices. A smartphone app allows users to find spots as they need them, for the hour, the day or even the month. When car owners choose a space, Parking Panda coordinates the logistics, takes a 20 percent cut of the price, and sends a check with the remaining profit to the owner.

As we reported a few weeks ago, CEO Nick Miller said that interested owners in the District have been free to post their spaces for the past month.

So far, it looks like about 50 spaces have popped around the city, though not all of them appear fully accessible. Parking Panda is populated with parking garages, such as those owned by PMI, who post the daily and hourly rates ($19 per day, $10 after 5pm, for example) and hours of operation.

There are only a few private spaces on the site right now, but here are a few examples of price points in various neighborhoods:

• Adams Morgan for $10 per day
• Dupont Circle for $25 per day
• Columbia Heights for $15 per day
• Near the National Cathedral for $12 per day

Since the site only launched last week, it may take a while for the word to get out to homeowners with space to spare. As the price settles, we’ll hopefully soon have a better idea of exactly how much a space is worth, at least rent-wise, in the city.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_cost_of_parking_in_dc_parking_panda/5475