One: because of the timing, a bus ride was going to cost at least US$200.
Two: again, because of the timing, a train would cost nearly double that.
Three: There's this funny little site I can put through Google translate and get a ride in someone's car for 25 euro.
Granted, the ride (pictured above) was barely up to getting us there, and in fact had to be push-started onto the German autobahn (....yes). But it got us there, cheap for the season.
The site was mitfahrgelegenheit.de, and it has since spawned several sister sites in more than half a dozen languages across Europe (including the queen's English over at carpooling.co.uk). It was one of the first sites I put in my "useful travel links" section at the bottom (which you should check out if you haven't already). But it remained restricted to Europe.
But not for long.
The company is coming to establish itself in America under Carpooling.com. And while it's partially aimed at simply easing commutes and carbon emissions, I think it has the potential to revolutionize budget travel in the United States.
You see, budget travel in the US is a problem. Major bus lines either make far too many stops to be practical or are restricted to the eastern seaboard (not to mention the seriously sketchy reputation of a certain canine-named carrier). The trains are comfy but expensive and run at laughable speeds and frequencies compared to their counterparts in Europe, developed Asia, Australia, India... pretty much anywhere else with trains. Plane rides are long and expensive, we don't have EasyJet, Ryan Air, Air Asia, or Tiger Airways out here. Even tickets on our discount airlines like Southwest and Jetblue can cost ten times as much as the airlines listed above. And unlike the rest of the world (Europe aside) there's no reward to booking at the last minute on any transportation method. It just gets more and more expensive, requiring passengers to book their tickets more than a month in advance.
Besides-- gas prices be damned-- the real way, culturally, to travel across America, is by car. There is nothing in the world quite like a good, old-fashioned American road trip.
Voila: Carpooling.com. Pay a driver who's going your way a negotiated amount, meet, ride. And this could be as easy as inviting or RSVPing to a party on Facebook. It's the 21st century answer to hitchhiking.
I'm going to be very excited to watch how this site develops and launches here in the USA.
Questions? Comments? 
Sounds like you have had quite an adventure in Germany! I have never heard of that way for budget traveling but I hope that it will become popular all over the world and we would be able to take advantage of it!
ReplyDeleteYep, hitchhiking is a good method to reach a place needed, but only if you are a boy. If not, it can be too dangerous, I guess
ReplyDeletehello buddy h r u and really its very carpooling is effective company so please visit to
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hope it takes off in the States,it's a smart way to travel
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