Reading passage
When Maria Santos got a new job in a factory outside her town, she faced a problem. The factory was eight miles from her home, and no bus went there. She could not drive, and a taxi every day would cost more than she earned. Her neighbour Ben worked at the same factory and drove past her street every morning. One evening, Maria knocked on his door and asked for a lift. Ben smiled and said yes at once.
A lift simply means a free ride in someone else's car. The person is already going your way, so the journey costs nothing extra. Millions of people around the world get to work, to school, or to the shops this way. Some lifts are arranged between friends and neighbours, like Maria and Ben. Others happen by chance, when a driver stops for a stranger waiting at the side of the road with a hopeful smile.
Taking lifts from strangers has a long history. In the 1930s, during difficult economic times, many people in America and Europe travelled by standing on the road and holding out a thumb. This was called hitchhiking, and drivers often stopped to help. For students and young workers with little money, it was a normal way to travel long distances. Some people crossed whole countries this way, paying nothing at all.
Hitchhiking was most popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Young people hitchhiked to universities, to music festivals, and to the seaside. Waiting for a ride could take five minutes or five hours, but that was part of the adventure. Many drivers enjoyed the company on long journeys, and friendships sometimes began at the roadside. A few travellers even wrote books about the interesting people who gave them lifts.
From the 1980s onwards, however, hitchhiking slowly became less common. People began to worry more about safety, both drivers and passengers. News stories about crimes made families nervous, and parents told their children never to accept rides from strangers. At the same time, cars became cheaper, so more people could afford their own. Today, very few people hold out a thumb on British roads, and in some countries hitchhiking is against the law.
But the idea of sharing a car journey did not disappear. Instead, it moved onto the internet. Lift-sharing websites and apps now connect drivers who have empty seats with passengers going the same way. The driver posts a journey, for example from London to Manchester on Friday evening, and passengers book a seat online. Everyone can see names, photos, and reviews from earlier journeys, which makes the system feel much safer than old-style hitchhiking.
Sharing a car has clear benefits. Passengers travel cheaply, usually paying only a share of the petrol cost. Drivers save money too, because the passengers' payments cover part of their fuel. There are also benefits for everyone else. Fewer cars on the road mean less traffic and cleaner air in cities. Some large companies even run their own schemes, helping workers who live near each other to travel together in one car.
There are simple rules that make sharing work well. Both sides should agree about costs before the journey begins. Passengers should be ready on time, because nobody likes waiting in a cold car. Drivers should not change plans at the last minute. And good manners matter on both sides. A friendly conversation makes the miles pass quickly, but a passenger who wants quiet should be respected too.
Maria and Ben soon settled into a comfortable routine. Every morning at seven o'clock, Ben's blue car stops outside Maria's house, and every Friday she gives him ten pounds for petrol. The arrangement has lasted two years, and the two neighbours have become close friends. Maria is now learning to drive herself. When she passes her test, she plans to buy a small car and give lifts to other people, just as Ben once helped her.