Hitchhiking

Hitchhiking as a form of transportation involves the solicitation of free rides from passing motor vehicles at the side of a road, normally from strangers (although hitchhiking can occasionally involve other forms of vehicles). Also referred to as thumbing, autostop, trampen, or hitching, hitchhiking is [Page 762]variously seen as an economic necessity, a means of escape or adventure, a sustainable mode of travel, and a way of overcoming a lack of public transit. To request a lift, it is commonplace for hitchhikers to extend an arm toward the road, with a raised thumb and clenched fist, or to present a sign or placard with the desired destination or route clearly visible to passing vehicles—although this form of signal is most common in Europe and the United States. A journey achieved by hitchhiking often involves more than one ride.

Hitchhiking became popular in the 1920s following the emergence of the automobile. Since the 1970s, however, the practice of hitchhiking has generally seen a decline in popularity as a result of the risks and dangers that have been associated with sharing a car with strangers—both for the hitchhikers and for the motorists who pick up hitchhikers—although there have been calls to revive it as an alternative mobility and more eco-friendly form of transport.

Hitchhiking is often associated with the emergence of social inequalities. For example, in times of economic necessity, such as the Great Depression, hitchhiking was a common form of transportation and a necessity for Americans migrating in search of labor. During this time, picking up a hitchhiker was considered a civic good or duty. Similarly, in Cuba, a shortage of cars as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the U.S. trade embargo made hitchhiking an ordinary cultural practice and requirement. It continues to be encouraged by the Cuban government as a means to address the shortage of transportation and ease pressures on an overcrowded public transit system. Any government vehicle with room for another passenger is required to stop by law (although this only applies if the hitchhiker is a Cuban national).