Policy ideas for brave public servants.
- any integrating of hitchhiking or casual carpooling systems into the transport mix requires a change of public consciousness as much as it does the practical necessities which are easy (as thirty years of Oakland 'hitchhiking' has shown). This requires a move away from the Western consumer ideal of one person one vehicle, the reorientation of the motor industry into repairing existing models and refraining from developing newer models (the efficiencies of which are unlikely to offset the minerals and carbon involved in their construction. Some adaptations to existing models could improvve ventilation through screens such as in use in taxi fleets, thereby minimising virus transmissions.
- the ecological and mental health benefits of sharing the road with others even on an infrequent basis maybe obvious, but this can be done to benefit the local economy if done in a clever manner.
CarmaHop in Lawrence, Kansas in 2015
Useful surveys and resources regarding policy
2009 UK Automobile Association/Poplus survey asked 15,000 members about picking up hitchhikers. The percentage who said they would was 9% down from 11% two years before, however certain rural and provincial parts of the UK were more favourable in attitude - such as Cornwall, Devon, Wales and Highland Scotland. Anecdotally I always felt that 1 in 20 vehicles would be prepared to stop in the 1980s and 1990s which is obviously a lower percentage than suggested here!
2014 Survey of 791 members of Royal Dutch Touring Club (ANDB)
67% give or would like to give lifts
nederlandlift :: Results survey: Hitchhiking in the NetherlandsAvenir
Social benefits of talking to strangers
This is now pretty well established and underpins the difference between commuting by public transport and the psychological benefits of lift sharing
RESEARCH ON RISK AND SAFETY ISSUES
California
Evans brothers
German Police
German academics
Really good hitchhiking advice for women.
Hitchwiki
Nina
Ana Bakran