After-work parking rates in downtown Harrisburg will be reduced again under a new pilot program for mobile app users.
The “happy hour” rate will be just $1 an hour from 5 to 7 p.m. for users of a new downloadable app offered by Atlanta-based Parkmobile LLC, which is slated to launch on March 1.
“We are excited to be working with Parkmobile,” said Mayor Eric Papenfuse in a statement. “The new app will open up a lot of possibilities for parking specials throughout the city.”
Harrisburg will hold a press conference tomorrow morning to announce the new app and the “After5” reduced-rate pilot program.
Two years ago, the city convinced Park Harrisburg, which runs the city’s parking system, to reduce the “happy hour” rate from $3 to $2 an hour downtown. This rate remains in effect for all users.
Around the same time, the city also partnered with Pango USA to launch an app for mobile phone users. The Parkmobile app will replace the Pango app, which some users said had glitches that didn’t always register the parking they had paid for.
The new app will allow for additional benefits, Papenfuse said. For instance, it will give merchants the ability to pre-purchase parking validation codes in bulk at a discounted rate, which could benefit customers and workers, and has the ability to offer other offers and discounts. It will be available for users of iPhone, Android and Windows-based phones.
The city said that the popular “LUVHBG” code, which permits four free hours of parking on Saturday, will remain in effect with the new app.
Author: Lawrance Binda
