4 things you need to know about Hytch
Some 20,000 cars commute to Nashville every morning from Clarksville with 100,000 empty seats.
Hytch, LLC aims to fill in these spots with passengers significantly reducing traffic and pollution on Interstate 24. The smartphone app was formally introduced in Clarksville and Montgomery County on Monday from the courthouse by County Mayor Jim Durrett and Hytch CEO Mark Cleveland.
"I can remember going to school and my mom would take me some days and we would pick up a couple of kids and then somebody else's mom would pick us up in the afternoon, and that is really what this all about," Durrett said.
With that in mind, and carpooling being a popular topic as regional leaders discuss transit options for Middle Tennessee, here's what you need to know about Hytch and how it plays into the regional transit concept.
The basics
Hytch is a carpooling app that will allow users to share car space and similar destinations. Once you log on, the app will prompt with a picture of the driver having a similar commute. Once the user swipes right, the two matched individuals can chat and work out the cost-sharing and begin their trip.
Both users will be given a chance to rate each other and pay through an online transaction via the app after the ride is complete.
"We are looking at long-distance commutes, which are 15 miles or more," Hytch CEO Mark Cleveland said.
nMotion
In August, the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Regional Transportation Authority of Middle Tennessee unanimously approved a strategic plan for the next 25 years called nMotion, which includes a commuter rail and a bus-on-shoulder service from Clarksville to Nashville.
"That is light years away and it is going to take time and lots and lots of money," Durrett said, "Hytch is an opportunity for us to embrace today."
Durrett said he is optimistic about the nMotion plan, but it is decades away.
"If we start building a light rail today, it will take 25 years for us to complete it, and we have not even started," he said.
Hytch is not the solution, but a part of the solution, according to Durrett.
"We have this technology here, today," he said.
It's not Uber or Lyft
Cleveland said a lot of people put Hytch into the Uber and Lyft bucket, which is not completely accurate.
"Uber and Lyft are random-pickup random-delivery ride for hire services primarily focused on the urban environment," he said, "We are looking at people who travel consistently."
Hytch's purpose is not to be an income-producing activity for drivers, he said.
"The purpose of this is to share the cost," Cleveland said.
Safety
Hytch has three categories of users. Registered user, verified user and certified user which will be determined according to ratings and feedback from passengers.
Cleveland said safety is a concerning issue for him.
"This is about networking friends and neighbors and coworkers first," Cleveland said.
Once the network grows, users can refer to driver, passenger ratings and certification and make a judgment whether to swipe right and ride together.
Reach government reporter Pranaav Jadhav at pjadhav@theleafchronicle.com and Twitter @pranaavj.