Hop In Technologies

Hop In Technologies is a Toronto-area logistics software company that addresses transportation and mobility barriers between employers and their employees. Its platform designs and coordinates routes for charter operators, shuttle fleets and rideshare providers so organizations can bring staff to work sites, particularly in outlying, rural or transit-underserved areas. The company frames the product as an extension of mass transit: mobilizing shuttle lines to fill gaps left by public transit systems, with routes and schedules tailored to the schedules of organizations and their employees.

The current offering is presented in two parts. A workforce analytics side provides recruitment heatmaps, commute risk modeling, workforce accessibility insights and data-backed expansion planning for employers seeking to improve hiring and retention. An operator platform side provides AI-powered route optimization, a driver mobile app, real-time dispatch visibility and fleet efficiency analytics for transportation operators. The company positions itself as a bridge between workforce intelligence and transportation operations.

Stated outcomes include broader access to hiring pools and improved retention for employers, and better work-life balance, lower cost and reduced emissions for employees, with a focus on carbon-neutral commuting and underserved populations such as immigrants and refugees without access to a car.

Founding story

Hop In Technologies was founded in 2018 by Erich Ko and Boyd Reid, who were frustrated by long multi-system commutes in the Greater Toronto Area that cost them time and money and by the gap between public transit and on-demand services. One account also names Erwin Komguem as a co-founder and places the company's origins in the basement of Ko's parents' townhouse in Markham. The founders experimented with hitchhiker apps and social carpooling before studying the root causes of commuting problems, and after about a year of research and customer discovery concluded that while ample transportation capacity existed, no logistics software coordinated it. Interviews with manufacturers around the GTA showed recruitment and retention problems caused by poor access to work sites, alongside a workforce — many of them immigrants and refugees unable to afford cars — that was willing to work but unable to reach those sites.

Business model

The company sells logistics and analytics software rather than owning vehicles, repurposing existing transportation capacity — private buses, taxi companies and rideshares — to run employee commute routes for organizations. Employers are the paying customers seeking recruitment reach and retention; transportation operators use the dispatch, routing and fleet tools. The company also works with public-sector partners such as counties, transit agencies and municipalities on shuttle services.

Traction

Its platform surpassed 450 rides per day as of 2022, with a stated goal of exceeding one thousand daily rides. The company reported avoiding 76 metric tonnes of CO2 in 2022 and just under 80 metric tonnes as of January 2024. Deployments and pilots include the Commuter Connect shuttle with Northumberland County and Metrolinx and a York University shuttle pilot run with OVIN and the City of Markham.

Latest developments

A December 2025 profile reports the company closed a seed funding round with investors including Storytime Capital, N49P and Mucker Capital, funding US expansion with activity in Alabama; joined the CITM accelerator in 2024; completed OVIN's Demonstration Zone and launched a York University shuttle pilot with OVIN and the City of Markham; and entered discussions with the Four County Labour Market Planning Board in Bruce County. It is developing an AI-powered route automation and optimization system intended for integration into larger workforce management platforms.