Earth Rides
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Earth Rides was a Nashville-based eco-friendly rideshare company founded by attorney Raven Hernandez. It positioned itself as a safe, clean, and environmentally friendly alternative to mainstream ride-hailing, and was featured on NBC's Today Show in September 2022 and named a finalist for Technology Startup of the Year at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center's 2022 Next Awards.
02 / Earth Rides FAILURE REASONS
Failure factors
Earth Rides shut without notice on 19 Jan 2023; former People Operations Manager Angelique Jaramillo said she believes the shutdown was due to finances, that the company lacked money to service cars, and that workers were unpaid for three weeks (corroborated by drivers in the prior-day FOX 17 story).
Former People Ops Manager Angelique Jaramillo told FOX 17 she believes the company shut down due to finances.
Jaramillo said employees were put at risk because the company did not have the money to service the cars.
drivers and Jaramillo said workers were owed about three weeks of pay after the abrupt close.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Operations ended
Earth Rides permanently closed on 19 January 2023; former drivers reported unpaid wages.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
On January 19, 2023, Earth Rides laid off 50 employees — about 10 percent of its workforce — and abruptly ceased operations.
- 02
Drivers were instructed to cancel rides and return vehicles to the lot without explanation; employees reportedly missed three weeks of pay.
- 03
The company did not inform employees in advance, did not comment on the closure, and became unresponsive to inquiries.