Plates welded onto the outside of all cars, parellel to the ground, just under the doors, on the side facing the pavement. Pedestrians who are going the same way as a car can hop on when the car is stopped (at traffic lights for example).

Some sort of incentive could be offered to drivers in the form of tax relief or maybe a little donation box could be fixed to the car so that the passenger could express his gratitude.
-- RobertKidney, Nov 20 2001

running boards http://www.nwhs.org/qna/roofwalks.html
watch out there is a cp2.5 about [po, Nov 20 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

. . . and when the driver has an accident, and the freeloader is injured, the freeloader sues the driver.

No thanks.
-- quarterbaker, Nov 20 2001


baked and obsolete - they were called running boards in the UK years ago
-- po, Nov 20 2001


The last car I remember with running boards was the VW Beetle (70's version). They should be brought back.
-- snarfyguy, Nov 21 2001


Hubby's Ford Exploder has running boards
-- bristolz, Nov 21 2001


Likewise on my mate's Nissan Terrano.
-- angel, Nov 21 2001


The point is to make them nearly universal. Otherwise there is not a lot of point. The idea could be sold on the grounds that it is good for the enviroment and so suported by the government. Or an effort could be made to make them seen fashionable.
-- RobertKidney, Nov 21 2001


Just wear crampons. Problem solved.
-- pottedstu, Nov 21 2001


Isn't public transit built on this concept? Catch a ride on a vehicle that happens to be going your way... Though public transit is (vaguely) less dangerous.

At least with the bus, you know where it's going. What happens if you jump on a car, and the driver decides to go on a road trip to Nunavut? If the driver doesn't stop, you've got to jump at some point.
-- mighty_cheese, Nov 21 2001


I was thinking of urban enviroments with lots of traffic lights. You get on at a set of traffic lights and get off at the next.
-- RobertKidney, Nov 22 2001



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