A man in China hired a ride in a car using a hitch-hiking app for a 1,400-kilometre trip that cost 2,800 yuan (US$390) then disappeared without paying when he reached the destination. A man surnamed Liu and his father planned a road-trip from Beijing to Zhangjiajie in Hunan province, central China in May. They decided to share the journey with a third party passenger, or “hitchiker”, they found a person through the hitchhiking service Hellobike.
The service allows people to share rides to offset the costs while helping others. Liu said his journey started at 6pm on May 22 and finished at 7am the following day. The total fare was 2,263 yuan (US$315) plus more than 600 yuan in tolls, as shown on the app.
However, Liu forgot to confirm that the other passenger had boarded, allowing the stranger to cancel the order via the app upon arrival. “I hadn’t used the app much and wasn’t familiar with its operations,” Liu said, adding: “When we arrived at the destination, I discovered the order had been cancelled.” The passenger promised to transfer his share of the fare in cash after his company’s finance department opened.
Trusting the passenger, with whom he had held a good conversation during their journey, Liu agreed and even bought him breakfast. “The guy said he worked at a major karaoke company and had been out with clients the night before, so he slept through most of the ride. I bought him bread and water on the highway because I think life is tough,” Liu t.