DATE: December 20, 2018
TO: Board of Mayor and Aldermen
FROM: Eric Stuckey, City Administrator
Emily Hunter, Director of Planning and Sustainability
Andrew Orr, Principal Planner
SUBJECT:
Contract 2018-0253 With Hytch Rewards In An Amount Of $3,000 To Provide Ridesharing Incentives For City Employees.
Purpose
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide information to the Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BOMA) concerning Contract 2018-0253 for ridesharing incentives for city employees.
Background
Mark Cleveland, the founder of Hytch Rewards, presented information to the Franklin Sustainability Commission at the August 3, 2018 meeting. Hytch is a mobile device application that tracks and incentivizes carpooling. The City subsequently administered an employee survey related to commuting habits. The City also administered a very similar survey in 2008 and compared the results. Some of the highlights are below:
• 98% of employees drive alone to work;
• Commute times are increasing; 45% of employees travel at least 30 minutes one-way;
• Fewer employees are living in Franklin and Spring Hill (50% in 2008 compared to 40% in 2018);
• Significant increase of employees commuting from Nashville;
• 40% of employees have worked for the City less than five years;
• Desire for work from home flexibility;
• Hytch incentive must be high enough for people to use the application;
The City views this as a pilot project to gauge interest and encourage commuter behavior change to alleviate the parking demand in the 2nd Avenue Parking Garage. The incentive is 10 cents/mile for employees who carpool to work between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. on weekdays.
Financial Impact
The City will pay Hytch $3,000 for use of the application and disbursement of incentives for participating employees.
Recommendation
This contract was executed per the authority granted by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to the City Administrator.