Nitin Khanna and James Kohler have a sign celebrating hard work in their boardroom that reads: "If there is an easy way to get some place, that place is probably not worth going."
Now the two young Drexel graduates, co-founders of a University City-based company called OmPay, are teaming up with the Philadelphia Parking Authority to make going places in the city easier for everyone.
Their solution is a prepaid Smart Card that can be inserted into a special diagonal slit at any of Philadelphia's 14,500 parking meters in lieu of coins. The user withdraws the card once the length of time desired shows up on a screen, and the corresponding amount of money is then deducted from the card via a computer chip.
The PPA upgraded all city meters in 2002 to be able to handle the new cards -- as well adding the capacity for meters to take all coins, not just quarters.
After testing the product for nearly two years and ironing out certain technical problems, OmPay began heavily marketing the Smart Card this past spring and now boasts over 11,000 users, about 800 of whom are Penn students, faculty and staff.
"We have so much going on in life," OmPay President and Chief Operating Officer Khanna said. "Having to frustrate over not having enough time in the meter is not really worth it."
OmPay will begin testing the Smart Card's utility in parking garages and taxis in December, and it hopes to extend the option to regional rail lines in the near future.
"We've all been there," OmPay Chief Executive Officer Kohler said. "You're at a party in Old City, you leave a couple of extra bucks for the bartender and you are a couple of bucks short for the cab. You would now not have to worry about being stuck and having to walk 40 blocks home."
Kohler added that OmPay's "big vision" is an integrated regional transport system with the Smart Card as the standard payment device.
Rick Dickson, director of strategic initiatives and planning for the Parking Authority, said that the PPA has worked hard to develop the Smart Card system, even though it may translate into lost revenue from parking tickets.
"We want to increase the convenience for people coming to visit stores, enjoy museums, go to the doctor," he said. "We don't want people to get tickets just because they don't have a quarter, and reducing the amount of cash we take in reduces our cost of operation."
Dickson added that while other American cities have parking meters that accept Smart Card, Philadelphia was the first one to make all meters, not just meters in central business districts, compatible with the new technology.
Smart Cards can be purchased online at ppasmartcard.com, by phone through the Parking Authority and at certain locations in Philadelphia, such as outside of Philadelphia Traffic Court and at numerous city news stands. Soon they may also be sold at convenience stores and bookstores.
Cards are available in $20, $25, $50 and $100 denominations and cannot be "recharged," but replenishable cards could replace the current cards shortly.
Marlen Kokaz, geographic informations systems director at Penn's Cartographic Modeling Lab, said she purchased a Smart Card because she was frequently in and out of the office, making parking garages an expensive and impractical option. While she has had a very positive experience with the card, she said she wishes OmPay or the Parking Authority would offer a map of the city with parking-meter locations, as is done with parking garages.
Khanna said that Kokaz's suggestion could very well be incorporated in future Smart Card improvements.
When informed about the Smart Card option, Wharton senior Shachar Golan, who has a car on campus, expressed excitement.
"I definitely don't have quarters in my car ever, so it's a good thing to have," he said.
