
Hitchhiking’s Time Has Come Again - georgecmu
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/opinion/sunday/hitchhikings-time-has-come-again.html
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graeme
I worked in Cuba for a while. They have a well established system of ride-
sharing.

It's generally for profit. In Havana, old American cars* (maquinas) run along
established routes, with fixed fares. You can travel the city for 50 cents to
a dollar, roughly.

Between cities, it's easy to find drivers who will take passengers, and
hitchhiking (for money) is a very common and fluid system.

It's well in advance of our carpooling system in many ways, and all without
smartphones.

I don't think it would work _without_ smartphones here, but there's space in
the market for an Airbnb of ridesharing. The underlying idea is monetization
of spare private capacity.

Edit: I should add that the system is very, very safe. But Cuba is also very,
very safe, so it's hard to draw conclusions.

*The American cars have replacement motors. Soviet and eastern european generally don't act as public taxis. Likely due to space, the America cars can fit 6-8 passengers.

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trotsky
i pathologically pick up hitchhikers, and i agree that it's unlikely to be
dangerous. not once have i felt like i was in an unsafe situation, though i am
a decent sized guy. but there is a lot of "color" out there - old guys
pressing me to get a hotel room with them and get it on, or people with bad
drugs and/or tenuous grips on reality. my best experiences have always been
around winter resorts - in my experience people hitching i70 in CO or tahoe in
CA are almost always chill and pretty local. i'm still happy to do it, but i
wouldn't really regard it as ready for prime time as the author.

for what it's worth the ride sharing apps, while interesting, don't seem ready
to take the place of hitching in my mind. hitching serves a [casual||down
market] segment that smart phone apps aren't ready to conquer (yet?).

~~~
stcredzero
_> i pathologically pick up hitchhikers_

In the early 90's in Homer, Alaska, this was just normal behavior.

 _> but there is a lot of "color" out there_

Also true for Homer. However, at no time did I ever feel unsafe. (From picking
up hitchhikers.)

~~~
activepeanut
Also normal behavior in Hawaii.

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dizzystar
In my early 20s, I had an awful experience hitch hiking. I'll never do it
again because I seriously thought I would not live to see the next day.

During that time, I knew quite a few people who hitch-hiked long distances.
Every single one of them had experiences where they thought they were going to
die or sensed they were is serious danger. Don't get me wrong, 90% of the
experience is positive and interesting, but that 1 / 10 ride you get will
scare you straight.

The numbers may suggest that hitch hiking is safe, but the numbers don't, and
cannot, tell the stories of those that had good reason to be traumatized by a
bad experience. As an experiment, try hitch hiking across one entire state. I
would gladly offer my $10 to your $7 that you wouldn't want to do it again.

EDIT to add: I hitch hiked in Florida.

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beatpanda
This article is asinine. Hitch hiking never went away. Maybe it's been less
visible for the class of people who can get Op-Eds published in the New York
Times, but it's gone on as normal long past the time of its "murder" given in
this article.

It's a commonly-repeated myth that hitching is illegal in the U.S. Most states
simply have laws making it illegal to stand on the "travelled portion of a
public way", which is a stupid way to hitch anyway. See
<http://hitchwiki.org/en/United_States_of_America> for details.

See <http://hitchwiki.org> for tips if you want to get in on the fun.

~~~
evoxed
As someone who has been [arrested | note: _it's complicated_. None of my
'offenses' were ultimately criminal, and I have no record.] for hitchhiking
multiple times (and hitchhiked over tens of thousands of miles before turning
20)– _nobody cares_. Argue all you want, but unless you're grossly mistreated
(and that's by their definition, not yours) in custody, I doubt even the most
local branch of the ACLU will give a damn about your claim. Do I think it's
stupid? Of course. But it still doesn't fly everywhere, and wherever you go
you have to be able to figure out the turf if you don't want a hefty fine or a
night of 'lodging' or more. Obviously, it gets much worse if you're a minor–
and good luck convincing anyone if you're emancipated.

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gilgoomesh
I'm worried that the article presents the statistic:

"in 1974 that hitchhiking was a factor in 0.63 percent of crimes [in
California]"

and brushes this off like it was nothing. This seems like a disturbingly high
percentage to me (although we don't know what percentage of people
hitchhiked).

If you consider that good risk management often involves avoiding 1 in a
thousand chances, sometimes 1 in a million (depending on the cost if it
occurs) it seems to me like hitchhiking should still be something you regard
as having higher-than-average risks.

~~~
_delirium
I also noticed that, though I'd want to know some more details, mostly what "a
factor in" means. If it's a stricter definition, where the hitchhiker or the
person picking them up committed a crime with the other party as the victim,
that does seem like a quite high percentage. On the other hand, I suspect they
might be using a very loose definition of "a factor in", where they're
counting any crime committed by a person who hitchhiked at any point close in
time to the crime, as having been indirectly facilitated by hitchhiking.

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paxswill
Casual carpooling is the quite common in some areas. The one I'm most familiar
with is between northern Virginia and DC. There are "slug" [0] lines scattered
around, commonly at commuter parking lots. I-395 has HOV-3 lanes on it, and it
can cut a commute from around between an hour to an hour and a half to around
thirty minutes. Passengers line up, and as a driver pulls up, he tells the
person in the front of the line where he's going and how many he needs. The
message is passed down the line (typically by the head of line yelling it
out), and passengers step out of line and get a free ride in.

[0] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slugging>

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lda
I have successfully hitchhiked in western Europe, mostly France. It can take
time to find a ride, but I (young middle class white male, clean shaven) was
always picked up by ordinary folks just happy to help out. The trickiest part
is finding a spot where people have the time to see you and slow down- in my
experience, just before highway tolls is best.

~~~
zalew
> The trickiest part is finding a spot

gas station? truck parking?

~~~
sliverstorm
Gas station is not great because people generally don't like being approached;
they think you're going to ask for money, ostensibly for gasoline. It's also
more difficult to target people going the direction you're going.

Truck parking might work if you're looking to get to the opposite coast, but a
trucker isn't exactly going to be super amicable about dropping you off in the
middle of the metro center of the next city over. He's got a schedule to keep.

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bproctor
I'd be curious in hearing more about why the FBI and law enforcement brought
on this fear campaign against it. Hippies "irked" them isn't really an
explanation.

~~~
yarianluis
Well, I take it tracking people gets significantly harder in rampant
hitchhiking, without a car registered to someone's name, or a bus/train ticket
in their name (possibly tied to a credit card).

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startupfounder
Hitchhiking for me is the exact oposite of technology. It is about connecting
with people on a deep level. When I give rides I always hear amazingly unique
snip of someone's life story and it inspires me.

When I get rides I realize how compassionate humans are. I have hitched all
over the world in cars, motorcycles and a pump trolly (train), my mother even
hitched on a turboprop plane once.

I met this guy Rock Eagle who free soloed the Eiffel Tower, an 80yo driving
90mph over a mountain pass to visit his girlfriend, a young woman hitchhiking
North and South America alone (and doing just fine), a drunk gangster who told
me he wouldn't kill me and parents who gave me the keys to their house and car
while they went on vacation.

Big cities are hard, but you take public transportation to the end of a line
or bus route and start there.

There are risks associated with any activity, but the most dangerous one is
sitting on your ass watching the world through a screen.

Your thumb has been and always will be the most sustainable, renewable,
friendly, loving, compassionate, eye-opening form of transportation on this
planet.

~~~
wybo
Completely agree. I did some Hitch-hiking as well (in Canada, France, and
Australia) and only have good experiences.

Canada was the best. I got a ride from a native american who smuggled me
aboard the ferry he worked on, so I could cross to Prince Edwards Island for
free. I got a ride from an older couple and their grandson in a camper, who
invited me to stay with them at a campsite (and gave me my first taste of
Moosehead lager). And in Newfoundland, apart from plenty of good car rides,
interesting conversations, (and being invited for Moose meat dinner, and even
overnight stays) I got a 'ride' from one coastal village to the next, from a
couple on a tiny boat, that were motoring around Newfoundland.

In France and the Netherlands I did some hitch-hiking as well, both for
practical reasons (when there was no bus), and for fun. Was a bit harder
there, but on overall it was great. Australia was ok too, though it could be a
while before one got a ride...

What I especially liked about it is the enormous diversity of people that one
meets, and the life-stories they can tell. From a factory worker on his way
home from the night-shift, metal-heads in a minivan heading for a French rock
concert, and people racing across states to visit an ill relative, to doctors
on holiday in their BMW, and land-lords making their round in a cabrio sports-
car.

Thumbs up to hitch-hiking!

------
diiq
I hitched for nine months in New Zealand, and loved every minute of it. Never
felt uncomfortable, had a lot of fantastic conversations.

Full disclosure, a woman was raped and murdered while hitchhiking, only a few
km from a town I was staying, while I was there. But I was out hitching the
next day, and still had no trouble. I don't know what moral to draw from that.

Still, if hitching comes back to the States, I'll be nothing but pleased.

~~~
derleth
> I don't know what moral to draw from that.

The same moral you get from living in a region (city, state, country, etc.)
where serious crimes happen: Unlikely things occur.

The same reasoning that says the dice (2d6) can come up twelve even though
there's only one way for that to happen says you _can_ be killed hitchhiking,
or picking up hitchhikers.

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gozmike
I've always been wary of hitchhiking and hitchhikers for that matter but I've
taken a few "chances" recently here in Montreal and I've had great results and
stories come of it. It really does cut down on the loneliness of long
commutes. It's amazing how you still get strange glances from other passing
cars when you pull over and let a hitchhiker in, particularly if she's a
woman. We really need to get over this...

A company that graduated the FounderFuel accelerator with us, called "Live
Rides" (<http://liverides.com>) has built an awesome app for Canadians to
find/offer rides by adding safety through a social layer. If you're Canadian,
check it out and give "hitchhiking" a try, it's really a blast no matter what
side you're on.

~~~
PeterWhittaker
"Cool", I thought, until I checked it out. "Ah, iOS only, too bad", I said to
meself.

~~~
sliverstorm
There are people who use things other than iOS? Color me surprised.

 _crooked grin_

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jnazario
many years ago i picked up a few people in my time hitchhiking, and used it
once to get back to town when my car broke down. neve had an issue.

one of the guys i gave a lift to suggested that as a man to never pick up a
woman hitchhiker. it's too easy for her to claim that you tried to assault her
and get your day ruined until it all gets sorted out. (curious if this is
true.) he also helped me to learn some techniques to get out of giving someone
a ride who, once you pull over, is actually all kinds of messed up.

haven't driven significant distances alone in eons, so i haven't run into this
in a long time. interesting piece to appear in the NYT however.

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albahk
I travelled to Jakarta quite a few times over the past year and was surprised
to see literally thousands of people hitching on the main roads of the CBD.

Turns out they are 'Jockeys' that people pay to pick up so they can drive on
the major downtown roads that have a 3-person min for each car. It's
essentially hitch hiking to go no where.

[http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/jakarta/jockeys-and-ojeks-
mor...](http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/jakarta/jockeys-and-ojeks-more-of-a-
problem-than-a-solution/516499)

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biftek
Strange, the author neglected to mention the 511 ride share program in NYC,
which was encouraging carpooling before Sandy.

<http://511ny.org/rideshare/>

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pdog
_> The one agency to commission a study on the subject, the California Highway
Patrol, found in 1974 that hitchhiking was a factor in 0.63 percent of crimes
in the state._

Even if crime was a factor in 100% of hitchhiking incidents, this statistic
could still be true. So the authors claim that it's "hardly Russian roulette",
based on this, is meaningless.

Given the enormity of crime, just because reducing hitchhiking wouldn't reduce
crime doesn't mean hitchhiking is not dangerous.

~~~
caf
Right, the correct statistic would be what proportion of hitchhiking journeys
result in a crime.

~~~
pjscott
Or, if you want to go the other way and show an absurdly wrong (yet factually
correct) statistic, you could proclaim that "100% of hitchhiking murders
involve hitchhiking!"

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PaulHoule
I pick up hitchhikers whenever I can. If it's a big inconvenience (a hippie
with a huge dog) or if I think something is sketchy, I won't do it. Ive never
had any real trouble.

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marshallp
The author neglected to mention that robocars are coming and so hitchhiking
will become irrelevant before it's second coming.

~~~
Joeboy
I don't really follow developments in the robocar world, but I would have
thought the passenger would still be able to tell the car to stop for a
hitcher.

