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Mobile bidding for public parking spaces?

Council bill would put the brakes on for-profit parking-spot-saving apps.

File: A customer uses a PPA parking kiosk on the 900 block of Filbert Street in Philadelphia. (David Maialetti / Staff Photographer)
File: A customer uses a PPA parking kiosk on the 900 block of Filbert Street in Philadelphia. (David Maialetti / Staff Photographer)Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer

NO SAVESIES! That's what people in one city councilman's camp are saying with a bill that would make it illegal to "sell" your temporary public parking spot to a nearby driver in dire need of one.

Councilman Bill Greenlee is trying to get ahead of what he says is a growing trend of private citizens selling public parking spaces - a practice that he says is both dangerous and illegal. The measure comes in the form of an ordinance he plans to introduce this morning that would apply to both metered spots and free street parking.

"We were doing some research and found there was an issue in some cities where, through an app, you could basically sell your regular, free parking spot," said Greenlee.

If driving around in circles looking for parking wasn't bad enough, one would-be remedy comes in the form of a smartphone application that allows a motorist leaving a parking spot to alert other nearby motorists wanting a spot. The departing driver would cede the spot to the arriving one.

Greenlee says this is happening particularly with an app called MonkeyParking, and that nobody has the right to auction off taxpayer-owned parking places.

"People take parking very seriously in this city," he said.

"If I reserve a spot for you for $15, in some cases you can get into a bidding war . . . That generally shouldn't be done. Imagine the problems it could cause."

In San Francisco, where these types of apps are now banned, parking spots were selling starting at $5 and up, with MonkeyParking taking a 20 percent commission. It reportedly promised drivers $150 a month for selling off their on-street parking.

It remains unclear just how the app use would be regulated, or banned, but Greenlee's people said much detail will be hashed out once the bill reaches Council's Streets and Services Committee.