Rideshare App Provides Rewards, Helps Overcome Transportation Barrier
(Middle Tenn.) — Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee has launched a partnership with Hytch, a Nashville-based tech company that tracks and rewards shared rides, to help its employees and clients overcome lack of transportation as a barrier to employment.
Goodwill, a non-profit organization whose mission is changing lives through education, training and employment, will be the first midstate employer to offer its team members direct incentives to carpool using the Hytch smartphone application. Starting in late September, Goodwill employees and Goodwill Career Solutions clients who use the Hytch app will receive rewards for every mile they travel.
“For many of the individuals Goodwill helps, finding an affordable ride to and from work can be a daily struggle,” said Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee CEO Matthew Bourlakas. “Goodwill’s mission is to help people overcome barriers to employment, and we believe the Hytch app — along with the cash incentives to use it — will make ridesharing a more simple and attractive solution.
“Carpooling helps to reduce traffic on our roads and benefits the environment,” he added. “It’s time we try a new approach that brings people together and leverages technology to build habits that benefit people and the planet.”
Whether they drive or ride along, Goodwill employees or clients and all other users of the Hytch app who carpool to work will be rewarded up to 5 cents per mile during the program’s launch period.
Hytch users are rewarded through a virtual credit card that can be used like cash, or they can arrange to have the funds they earn moved automatically into their bank account. Payouts can be received upon demand by participants after certain mileage thresholds are reached.
Goodwill is no stranger to the mobility problems faced by an entry-level workforce. For the last several years, Goodwill’s Wheels to Work program has provided donated vehicles for employees who lack transportation to work. But, every day, thousands of people in Middle Tennessee struggle to find rides to and from work or spend too much money on gas and too much time in traffic.
“Nashville isn’t the only community choking on car exhaust and congestion,” said Mark A. Cleveland, CEO and co-founder of Hytch. “We have a car-centric culture, a car-centric infrastructure and a great opportunity to put two or more people in these cars. Goodwill employees will be the first to experience a revolution in the way leaders view ridesharing incentives as a cost-correct solution to congestion problems.”
About Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee, Inc.:
For 60 years, Goodwill Industries of Middle Tennessee has provided job training and job placement free of charge to people with disabilities or other barriers to employment through the sale of donated items. Goodwill's vision is that all people will have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential through the power of work. More information about Goodwill’s Career Solutions, retail stores and donation centers can be obtained online at www.giveit2goodwill.org or by calling 1-800-545-9231.
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ABOUT HYTCH
Hytch is a Nashville-based social impact technology company that rewards people to lower carbon emissions, protect clean air and reduce traffic congestion through logging their shared commutes with the Hytch Rewards platform. By using the free app for iPhone and Android, Hytch Rewards promotes the habits of sharing a ride by enabling users to “Save Trees” and to earn cash rewards when available in sponsored markets. Recognized as a pioneering platform, Hytch received a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Hytch also earned the Nashville Technology Council’s Emerging Company of the Year, the Tennessee Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award and recently, the Sustainable Transportation Award presented by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. To learn more about Hytch, visit HytchRewards.com or contact press@hytch.me.
