Feb 22 2009
Hitching a ride 2.0
Hitching a ride is a time honoured alternative transportation method used for decades by folks into self reliance. Personally, I had thought it had gone by the wayside but that turns out to not be the case at all. Not only are there several websites devoted to hitchhiking, there are travel websites with sections on hitching and several permutations and essentially upgrades to the entire concept.
Hitchhikers styles itself as “The worldwide hitchhiker’s agency” and they certainly are set up to be, but there were no rides listed for North America at all when I looked. Hitchwiki also has great potential. Digihitch , however, seems to have all possible aspects of hitching covered and covered well…up to and including music and movies! There’s a hitchhiking guide on Road Junky Travel , and another that includes tips on busking over at StiffArmingSociety. Wikitravel, named one of TIME magazines 50 Best Websites of 2008, also has a travel topic for hitchhiking.
As for permutations and upgrades, probably the first one that leaps to mind is the rideshare section on Craig’s List. It’s kind of like planned hitching, and although the most common request is to split or at least pitch in on gas costs, I personally have used CL rideshare to get from Portland, OR to the Seattle/Tacoma area and it cost me 1) a hand of bananas 2) a batch of cookies 3) a Barbara Streisand cassette tape. Yes, the folks who put the ad up specifically requested Barbara Streisand on cassette tape in the ad as a payment option. Fortuitously, I had just been gifted a batch of cassette tapes and, lo and behold, one of them was the coveted tape. Worked out well for all concerned. The next very cool and very recent development, at least in the States, is Avego , an ambitious and varied start-up that connects carpoolers via an Iphone app. GPS, GNS, GIS, iPhone and web technologies are used to dynamically match a driver’s spare seats on a journey with a passenger’s request for transport. Drivers receive a small fee from the passengers they transport, via an automated transaction, to help pay for the costs of the commute. Avego is also ramping up for Futurefleet TM which is designed to address, as you might guess from the name, various fleet applications.
The only time I’ve personally hitchhiked was when my car broke down on a lonely stretch of road. I’ve picked up a few hitchhikers, mostly folks who had broken down on a lonely stretch of road. Have you ever hitchhiked? Do you do it now? Do you think your age makes a difference in whether or not you get a ride? Have you used carpooling or rideshare to get someone? Would you recommend it?
And here—just in case you needed the same ear worm I’ve had since I started writing this post. 
