Moshow the Cat Rapper and the Portland Bureau of Transportation Debut New Music Video "Parking Kitty" to Promote Passport-powered Parking Kitty App

The Portland Bureau of Transportation and Portland artist Moshow the Cat Rapper debuted a new rap and music video today called “Parking Kitty”, after the City’s new parking app, to encourage Portlanders to download and use the app for a more streamlined parking experience.

Portland’s embrace of Parking Kitty in its first four months has exceeded expectations. Users have given the application rave reviews on both the App Store and Google Play and six percent of all parking transactions are now being done through the app. By using the Parking Kitty app, users can take advantage of paying for their parking session with their debit and credit cards. In addition to paying for their parking sessions, parkers can receive ‘meow’ alerts when sessions are low on time, extend parking sessions remotely without having to feed the meter, view and manage parking history and multiple car sessions, receive email receipts, and get updates and alerts.

Parking Kitty can be used in all of the City of Portland’s parking districts, including Downtown, Northwest, Marquam Hill, the Lloyd District and the Central Eastside Industrial District as well as at Washington Park. Portland State University will officially open the app for use in its parking garages in time for students to arrive for the new school year.

The Parking Kitty music video features Moshow and his cat, Ravioli, driving and dancing in front of a 1956 Chevrolet Nomad while PBOT parking enforcement officers and Transportation Director Leah Treat dance in the background. The video was filmed and directed by Matt Giraud of Gyroscope Pictures in the Riverplace district in Downtown Portland. The Parking Kitty rap and video was written and edited by Moshow. The video can be viewed online here.

“Moshow is quintessentially Portland and his love for cats was a perfect match for our new app,” said Transportation Director Leah Treat, “We are thrilled with this partnership and hope it inspires more Portlanders to take advantage of the receipt-free parking offered by the Parking Kitty app.”

“Washington Park has experienced excellent adoption of Parking Kitty, with nearly nine percent of all transactions being completed via the app,” said Victor Sanders, Program Specialist at Portland Parks & Recreation. “Visitors to the Park no longer need to cut short a visit when taking their cats to smell the roses at the Rose Garden, finding their cat-like zen at the Japanese Garden or viewing the majestic wild cats at the Oregon Zoo – they simply add more time using their phone.”

“PSU supports a broad diversity of companion animals and travel modes,” says Ian Stude, Director of Transportation and Parking Service at Portland State University. “With roughly 4,000 parking stalls on our campus, we are excited to adopt Parking Kitty as one of our own.”

“Helping to bring the City of Portland’s vision to life through the Parking Kitty application has been enlightening,” said Bob Youakim, CEO at Passport. “The city has changed the game in how parking can be viewed and used as a tool to improve interactions within the community. It has been an honor to partner with the city on its technology initiatives in a fun and unique way.”

Portland partnered with Passport, the global leader in mobile payments for parking and transit, to develop its custom parking app, unique to the city’s cat culture.

The name Parking Kitty is a play on the meaning of kitty as a pool or reserve of money. It is also a nod to the Portland’s well-known reputation as a cat-friendly community.

The Parking Kitty app is free to download from the App Store and Google Play and parkers can also manage their parking online at parkingkitty.com. Users will be charged a ten cent convenience fee to use the app to pay for a parking session.

About Passport

Passport is the industry’s leading mobile technology solution specializing in enterprise business applications and payments for the public and private sector. Passport’s product lines--parking payments, transit payments, enforcement and permit management--collectively serve to deliver dynamic tools for agencies to better connect with their communities. Its services have been adopted by over 300 agencies on over 3,000 locations globally. Passport’s mission is to reduce operational complexity and deliver intelligent data to improve decision making for its clients. Passport is backed by a group of investors, including Grotech Ventures, Relevance Capital, and MK Capital. For more information, please visit www.passportinc.com.

About PBOT

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is the steward of the City’s transportation system, and a community partner in shaping a livable city. We plan, build, manage and maintain an effective and safe transportation system that provides access and mobility. Learn more at www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation.

About Moshow

Born and raised in inner Baltimore, MD, Moshow defied the odds to build a name for himself as the Internet's premiere Cat Rapper. He now calls Portland, OR his home with his 4 cats - Sushi, Tali, Mega Mam and Ravioli. Moshow is on a mission to inspire the world, sharing with others the lessons he has learned, to not give up on yourself and follow your dreams, no matter where they take you. www.iammoshow.com