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Parking Panda is a peer to peer service that matches people who need parking spaces with private parking space owners who are willing to sell their spaces. It targets major metropolitan areas where parking can often be a nightmare, especially at large events, in busy downtown areas, or at popular nightlife spots. Parking Panda also allows people who own their own parking spaces to make money by renting their parking spaces out to people who need them. Those who are offering spaces receive an e-mail when the space is rented, and the money from the transaction is all handled by Parking Panda, making the transaction safe for both parties.

Parking Panda was founded by Nick Miller and Adam Zilberbaum, who got the idea while searching for a parking place during a Baltimore concert. They found a man renting out his driveway for $10. Not only did they get a parking spot that day, but the experience gave birth to their new company. Parking Panda launched in 2012. Parking Panda is quite popular where it is available, and will most likely increase that popularity as they reach new cities.

The Parking Panda peer-to-peer parking rental service is in itself unique, though there are several other apps aimed at helping people find parking spaces. Mobile Parking Apps helps users find the cheapest parking rates in Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York City. It also allows people to compare rates from neighborhood garages. Best Parking has a similar strategy. Parking Mate handles the parking issue by allowing users to set meter timers to avoid parking tickets.

Parking Panda has a clean, uncluttered, fun look to it. There is no unnecessary clutter on the site. An adjustable slider bar helps users decide how far they are willing to walk from parking place to destination. The search results come back instantly, and reserving a parking space is quite easy to do. Everything on the app is built to be user-friendly. The site is already built to be mobile friendly and compatible with most smart phones.

Users who merely want to find parking spaces don’t even have to register for Parking Panda. They can simply make their search and pay, though they’ll have to enter information upon reserving a space. Users who want to rent out parking spaces have to provide quite a bit more, including a photograph of the parking space they are offering and the financial information that Parking Panda will need in order to pay them.

Parking Panda itself is free, though users still have to pay for the parking spaces once they rent them. If they don’t choose to rent any spaces, users don’t have to pay anything. Parking space owners can list their spaces for free, as well, though Parking Panda does make a small fee on every transaction.

Anyone who drives and lives in the areas that Parking Panda serves will find this to be one of the most useful, intuitive apps available today. It is a simple way to solve a very common headache while putting some money back into the pockets of regular people.

• Available in Baltimore and Washington, DC, and on its way to other cities.
• Peer to peer parking service helps users find frustration-free parking.
• Users can reserve a spot and pay online, hassle free.
• Parking Panda is mobile-friendly so it can be used on the spot, as the need arises.

Parking Panda video

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