Hitchsters 2.0  |  Travel Pointers  |  Other Stuff  |  Payment  |  Safety

What's new in Hitchsters 2.0?

1. San Francisco - welcome to Hitchers! Hitchsters doesn't make sense isolated in one city, and so we are expanding. We launched in San Francisco on November 11th - with Boston, Chicago, and Washington DC to come soon after. What's so great about scaling our service? If you think about it, using Hitchsters to "bookend" your journey can save you upwards of $100 per trip and the more cities we are in, the more opportunity you have to save money!
2. User Accounts (MyHitchsters) - complete with your profile, trip history, the options to change your trip itinerary, and even a rating system for your co-rider, we hope these make for a better online experience.
3. Limo Companies - instead of connecting people to share cabs to the airport, we are partnering with limo companies to do the same thing. We've negotiated rates that are competitive to what a cab would charge for the same ride and the best part is that the fare includes tax, tip, and toll so no need to worry about carrying cash!Why limo companies? See here.
4. Google Maps - instead of limiting matches to neighborhoods, we will match by distance. Not only will this increase the # matches, it makes for easier expansion into different cities.

Why user accounts?

We want to provide a better online experience for you.
1. Change a Ride - we're giving you more flexibility to change your Hitchsters itinerary (within a timeframe, of course).
2. Trip History - so that you can track and feel good about how much money and carbon emissions you are saving by using Hitchsters.
3. Rating System - we don't like tardy co-riders and no-shows either, so we've worked it into our algorithm to preferentially match you with reliable riders. You'll get to rate your co-rider in an email after every successful shared ride to the airport.

Why do you want my address?

Hitchsters 2.0 matches by distance, and no longer by neighborhoods. This will increase your chance of getting matched, and makes it easier for us as we expand to different cities. And with a MyHitchsters account, we'll save your info so you can breeze through the online process.

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How do I improve my chances of being successfully matched with a co-rider?

1. Check out the site right after you book your flight, and sign up right away in order to give yourself the best odds of being matched.
2. Have your cell phone charged and ready.
3. And of course - tell everyone you know about Hitchsters. The more people using Hitchsters, the better your chance gets of being matched.

When should I contact my co-rider after I am matched?

Since we are partnering with car service to provide shared rides to the airport, you no longer have to call your 'match' to coordinate travel plans. However, we encourage users to call each other and introduce themselves, and confirm their respective travel itineraries.

What if I want to change my flight?

Our system will wait up until 2 hours before your departure time to find a suitable match. In addition, you can change your trip itinerary within MyHitchsters up until 48 hours before your scheduled departure time without getting charged for your share of the ride. After the 48 hour point, if you need to delete your entry on hitchsters.com then you are responsible for contacting your co-rider to inform him/her of the change.

Do not leave people hanging - if people aren't considerate, hitchsters.com will suck.

If you are the user left without a co-rider, you will have up to 48 hours to re-enter your information on hitchsters.com.

Oh no, something horrible has happened after I entered my information and I can no longer share a cab. How do I remove my entry before I am matched?

Delete your entry on hitchsters.com. Thank you for deleting your entry promptly to ensure that you are not matched with a co-rider.

What if my flight is late and I am sharing a cab from the airport to my destination?

Since we only match you with other people on the same flight, you will not be affected by late flights.

I put my information in yesterday but I still have not been matched. What's up?

The hitchsters.com matching system searches for a suitable co-rider from the time you enter your information until either your flight lands or your time to hail a cab passes. We hope that the time that it takes to match you with a co-rider will shorten as more people use hitchsters.com (so please tell your friends-the more people who use it, the more money you can save). If you are not matched, you will receive a sad, depressing text message and an e-mail wishing you better luck next time.

I was matched with someone in my area but 30 blocks away. Anything I can do to make it easier to meet up when we share a ride to the airport?

Don't worry, this won't happen with Hitchsters 2.0. Since we match by distance (and no longer by neighborhoods), you can be sure your co-rider is within a reasonable radius of where you live.

Someone flaked and did not meet me. What should I do?

After your trip, you will have an opportunity to evaluate your co-rider with a "thumbs-up" or "thumbs-down" rating. The next time
Anyone can use hitchsters.com and everyone who uses hitchsters.com uses it at their own risk, but we reserve the right to block users who abuse hitchsters.com.

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Are you going to give my personal information to 3rd party marketing agencies that are then going to bombard me with advertisements?

NO NO NO NO No.  Nope.  No way.  We hate annoying phone calls and spam e-mail, too.  We will preserve a record of all of the matches as an extra safety precaution, but we are not going to give your phone number or e-mail address to anyone for marketing reasons.  Please see our Privacy Policy for more details.

When I travel for work, I get reimbursed.  Why should I use hitchsters.com?

Because you can help reduce the carbon emissions from two vehicles to one, and you might meet new people who might know a city better than you. You could also treat a co-rider to a car ride (ever seen that bumper sticker about "random acts of kindness"?) Then hitchsters.com would be really cool.

I am using the Internet on the airplane now. Can I use hitchsters.com?

Yes.  The hitchsters.com matching system continues to look for a suitable co-rider on your flight until a few minutes before your scheduled landing.  If you are matched, you will receive a text message with the information of the co-rider when you land.

What if I am under 18?

Have your mom take you to the airport. Don't use hitchsters.com.

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Is hitchsters.com free?

Yes (but note your cell phone carrier may charge you for the text message).

Then why do I need to enter my credit card information?

Before you freak out about another website asking for your credit card #, here why: paying up-front for your airport trip makes your travel experience more hassle-free. We don't like carrying cash, either - so this keeps you from scavenging for change as you're pulling up to the terminal.

Another way to think about it: when you pay through Hitchsters, you are paying for the ride -instead of paying the car company, you would be paying through us. Don't worry, we won't charge you until you are matched with a co-rider (and in case you're wondering, this already includes tip. Cool huh?)

What am I paying for?

Your portion of limo fare, tax, tip, and any tolls. Like we said - no need to carry cash!

When am I charged?

Unless you indicate that you "must ride alone," you will not be charged until you are matched with a co-rider. At that point, you will be charged your portion of the shared ride.

What is Hitchsters' sales policy?

Up until 2 hours before your scheduled departure to/from the airport, our algorithm will continue to search for an ideal match. So that we can find the best possible match for you, and so you can edit your itinerary as necessary, our system will not confirm a match until 48 hours before your scheduled departure. Once a match is made and payment has been confirmed within that 48 hour window, your credit card will be charged for your shared portion (50%) of the ride. Until that point 48 hours before your departure, you may still edit your itinerary; within 48 hours of your departure time, we will not offer refunds for matches made.

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Is hitchsters.com safe?

All hitchsters.com users use hitchsters.com at their own risk. Similar to Craigslist, anyone can use hitchsters.com and we do not do anything to check people out before they use it.

However, any time you get in a cab (car) it is you and a stranger, and we think 3 strangers are safer than 2. Also, you have the option to choose the gender of your co-rider.

Lastly, as a safety precaution, we keep a record of all matches.

Safety Tips

First-name basis only (the hitchsters.com community is very informal).

Don't get out of the car directly in front of your place.

Let someone else know that you are using hitchsters.com (the phone number of your co-rider will be in your e-mail, too).

While it is important to be open to meeting new people if you want to save money using hitchsters.com, you are under no obligation to share a ride with someone that creeps you out (please e-mail us and let us know if this happens).

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