Pango, the parking mobile-payment vendor, moving to Philadelphia

Pango USA, the company creating a mobile-payment system for parking in Philadelphia, will move its operations to the city from Manhattan, Pango USA president Neil Edwards said Tuesday.

Edwards said Pango will probably seek a location in Center City close to the Philadelphia Parking Authority, which last week selected Pango as the vendor for its mobile-payment system.

The small company will move its four or five operations staffers to Philadelphia and "probably" its marketing and sales staff, too, Edwards said.

Pango said in its bid for the parking authority contract that the company would move its corporate New York office to Philadelphia within 18 months of the contract award to provide more local support.

Pango USA is a subsidiary of Pango Mobile Parking Ltd. with headquarters in Kadima, Israel, as well as New York City.

The Pango app will allow customers to use their cellphones or other devices to pay for parking at on-street spaces or in parking authority lots and to add time remotely.

PPA parking enforcement workers will be alerted to the mobile payment on their handheld devices when they note a vehicle's license plate number.

Users will be charged 1 cent per transaction. Pango also will make money from advertising and from merchants who offer validated parking to their customers.

The system is expected to be in operation within 60 days of the contract signing, which is expected in a few days, PPA spokesman Martin O'Rourke said.

Initially, customers will be able to use the app for on-street parking in Center City (Fourth to 20th Streets, Arch to Locust Streets, and Columbus Boulevard from Spring Garden to Race Streets). Also to be included is a surface lot at 801 Chestnut St., which has 110 spaces, and the lot at SEPTA's Torresdale rail station, with 318 spaces.

After a six-month trial period, the mobile-payment system is expected to be expanded to the entire city.

The app will include an option for users to add time to a meter that is about to expire, with an increasing rate each time. The app will send reminders to motorists that their paid time is about to expire.

The Pango app also will alert drivers to vacant parking spots and provide directions.

Pango provides mobile-payment systems for Phoenix, Harrisburg, Scranton, Alexandria, Va., 33 cities in Israel, and locations in Brazil, Poland and the Czech Republic, Edwards said.