Hytch Rewards

Hytch Rewards provides a cash incentive management platform for employers to reward employees for more sustainable commuting habits, such as carpooling and using public transit. The company was co-founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2014 by Mark Cleveland, Robert Hartline, and Steven Buhrman, launching its app in 2018. The initial concept was a "Tinder for carpooling," but it pivoted to focus on incentivizing behavior change after Cleveland's data-centric analysis suggested the primary barrier to carpooling was a lack of incentive, not a lack of connections.

The platform operates through a free mobile app for iOS and Android that uses GPS to validate and log shared rides, allowing users to earn cash rewards. The business model is a marketplace where Hytch collects a transaction fee. Revenue comes from platform fees and consulting services paid by sponsoring employers, corporate donors, and public funding sources who wish to promote their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, reduce traffic congestion, and improve employee recruitment and retention. These sponsors fund the cash rewards, which can be layered, allowing a commuter to earn incentives from multiple sources like their employer and a corporate sponsor simultaneously. Every mile logged through Hytch is made carbon neutral through the purchase of carbon credits, and the company also plants trees for every 50 miles tracked.

Hytch has formed numerous public-private partnerships. Early collaborators included Nissan, which sponsored per-mile rewards across Tennessee, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, and the Greater Nashville Regional Council (GNRC). This partnership model has expanded to other cities, such as South Bend, Indiana, to address transportation barriers to employment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company adapted its platform to launch a 'Shelter in Place' feature, allowing employers and governments to offer daily cash rewards to residents for staying home.

Keywords: commuter rewards, ridesharing incentives, corporate mobility, employee commute benefits, sustainable transportation, traffic congestion solution, carbon neutral commuting, mobility as a service, public-private partnership, smart mobility, ESG initiatives, employee retention, transportation demand management, carpool rewards, mobility data, cash incentives, incentive management platform, green mobility, workforce transportation, shared mobility