Everyone — literally, everyone — who drives a personal vehicle in Austin has experienced the agony of trying to park downtown without getting fleeced for $10, $15, $20, or more just to park close to the fun. It’s even worse for people who work down there. And don’t even dream about getting a spot withing a mile of Dirty Sixth during any of the major festivals.
A Luxe valet driver.
The fact is that traversing the center of our city can be a time-consuming, costly experience. But, it doesn’t have to be. Not anymore, if you’re a Luxe user.
What’s this Luxe thing? It’s not the apothecary + boutique downtown with the same name… They’re cool, but they won’t park your car. This Luxe thing is an app for iPhone and Android that finds people who will, and it launched in Austin just last week.
First of all, this is nothing like Uber. Austinites love them some Uber, but this is very different. Using Luxe, you tell them when you’re going to be at a certain location and they send someone who has been through a rigorous valet training course to wait for you.
You’ll know it’s your Luxe driver because they also wear uniforms (again, Nothing Like Uber). Hand them your keys and they’ll got park the car in one of the company’s extra-low-rate lots. When you want it back, use the app to tell them when and where, and your car will be waiting for you — simple as that.
Best part: This service is just $4 and hour, and it caps out at a grand total of $16 if you need to leave your car longer than expected. That’s cheaper than parking at the Bullock Museum on game day, people!
Plus, there’s overnight parking options, commuter options, monthly parking deals, and other package deals that you can subscribe to through the app. Virtually all of them are a better deal than what you’ll find downtown, unless you’re just exceptionally lucky.
This, in all seriousness, could solve Austin’s downtown parking situation if it catches on. They’re already operating in San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and a few others, so you know they’ve had a lot of practice at this.
Have you tried Luxe yet? Let us know how it went in the comments below.
Here’s how they explained the service to KXAN-TV…
