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[threemonkeys]

Back in July 06, I posted this entry about some "hitching post" signs that Hutt City Council had put up in Maungaraki to encourage ride sharing. The signs are still there although some are a bit the worse for wear.

Why do I mention this? Because yesterday, for the very first time, I actually saw somebody trying to hitch a ride under one.

I would have picked him up too, but he was under the "Hutt Central" sign and I was on my way to the airport. Yep, yesterday I went to Auckland for a meeting. Not that big a deal except that some bright spark at work has figured out that it is cheaper to hire a car for a day than it is to take taxis to and from the airport to our work site in Auckland. (it is true in Welly too actually). So I pick the car up from Hertz and head out for a place I've never been to before in an area I have never been to before and I'm running late because the flight was delayed. Then I take a wrong turning.

Wasn't a problem though. I made it to where I was going with minutes to spare before the clients arrived. What I realised, is that while I don't know Auckland very well, as long as I can keep myself oriented relative to Manukau (i.e. city centre) then I pretty much know where I'm going. I knew Manukau had to have some use.

Comments

[callie]

Okay, that does make some more sense from the personal convenience perspective. I'd assume that unless/until it took off it would only be people who would otherwise go by bus. I wonder if they were assuming it would make enough difference to tempt people out of their cars, and therefore impact on pollution/congestion, or if it was done mostly for personal convenience of commuters, which is noble but surprising.

[threemonkeys]

The story goes that this was instigated by a HCC councilor resident of the suburb who had on occasion stopped to offer people at bus stops lifts into town. These random acts turned into a regular carpool arrangement. He wanted to see if he could encourage others into similar carpooling. It was a cheap experiment - under $1k I believe.