Backpacker murderer Ivan Milat and freaky films like Wolf Creek have scared the life out of a once-popular pastime of thrifty travellers.

Almost gone are the days of spotting hitchhikers strolling on the side of the road, thumbs out and gear strapped in every possible fashion to their bodies.

While there are still the occasional brave souls out there, it's extremely rare to see cardboard signs scrawled with a destination out on the highway.

It seems there are no free rides.

Curious as to where all the hitchhikers have gone, I put in a call to seasoned traveller and writer George Dunford.

Now 36, Dunford spent his 20s traipsing around the globe and has been on both sides of the hitchhiking coin.

In Europe, Dunford hitched a ride in Finland with a truckie who shared the joys of truck driving in Russia. On another occasion, when working in Scotland, Dunford would hitch to the nearest town every day after his shift.

"You got to meet people and have a bit of a chat," Dunford told me of his hitching experiences.

On the other hand, Dunford returned the favour as a driver, picking up a Maori hitchhiker in New Zealand.

"I think it's really useful as a way of just talking to people and meeting people," he says.

But now, the times they are a'changing and, like a lot of social experiences, hitchhiking has moved into the digital age (think social networking websites, online dating and cyber auctions).

"People still do it (hitchhiking) ... people are doing it a lot more differently," Dunford says.

"A lot more people do ride-sharing and do things based off an internet site," he says.

Ride-sharing, like car pooling, allows you to name your destination and you will be matched to others heading in the same direction.

"There's a lot more of that sort of stuff than people sticking their thumbs out," Dunford explains.

It's much the same as hitchhiking, only without the scrappy signs, exhausting waits and backpacker murders.

"It's a little bit like the digital equivalent ... like having a digital thumb."

There are ride-sharing sites sprouting up with rides going in all directions, from Bolivia to the Big Banana. Dunford tells me about PickupPal.com.

"You can say: 'I'm going to Perth in six months' time, let's meet for a drink and see who you are before I definitely do something like that'.

"I think that's where people are going."

The site is new on the scene, launched in January this year.

One of PickupPal's co-founders, John Stewart, was stuck in a traffic jam when he began pondering about a way to coordinate transportation.

"We thought: 'what if we could formalise the age old practice of finding people on your way or hitchhiking'," PickupPal co-founder Eric Dewhirst said.

"This is the evolution of hitchhiking with a twist," he says.

"In the times when we trusted others more, hitchhiking worked really well.

"However now there is a subtle culture of fear when it comes to random hitchhiking and picking up hitchhikers.

"That is why we are working really hard to break down that fear by studying the psychology of this fear and addressing it head on."

Dewhirst explains that the website brings together drivers and passengers with similar interests to "lower the barrier of suspicion" and "increase the likelihood of people working together".

For example, the site provides ride-sharing services for music-lovers heading to the same festivals or sports fans heading to the same event.

And, as a bonus, by getting involved in digital hitchhiking you are minimising your carbon footprint.

"Bands like the Dave Matthews Band are embracing PickupPal to help their fans get to concerts and to facilitate the reduction of harmful CO2 emissions," Dewhirst says.

Dunford has recently written a Lonely Planet book for first-time travellers called The Big Trip.

He says that when writing the book he was cautious about encouraging hitchhiking.

"My problem ... was whether to talk about hitchhiking or not because obviously young people are still doing it, still interested.

"But Lonely Planet's always had a bit of a policy about not recommending it because we can't guarantee it's safe, we don't really know what people are getting into," Dunford says.

The more sophisticated digital hitchhiking softens the fear factor out of old-school hitching methods.

For example, Dunford advises safety in numbers and warns women flying solo not to hitchhike.

PickupPal "allow(s) members ... to state their gender and indicate if they wish to travel their own gender only or be open to either option," Dewhirst says.

"So what we see is a lot of women riding with other women - sometimes just so that they can feel safe not driving alone," he says.

Another danger is the assessment both hitchers and drivers have to make, "based on their head and shoulders and that's about it", as Dunford puts it.

"You have to to decide if you want to get a lift right then and there.

"So it's a pretty tricky kind of equation," he says.

The digital answer: "Ride sharing in the PickupPal context is about options. As a passenger you get to choose who you want to ride with, (as) opposed to hoping someone will just stop for you," Dewhirst says.

"As a driver you choose who you care to offer a ride to.

"Both sides review each others' profiles and make an informed decision as to whether they will ride together."

Another hitching danger that is sometimes forgotten is the risk of being hit by passing traffic when you are ambling street-side.

"When researching hitchhiking and the culture behind it all I was shocked to see that it was not the Hollywood portrayal of a deranged driver picking up an unsuspecting hitchhiker that was the safety problem," Dewhirst says.

"It was the mere fact that to be successful at hitchhiking one needs to be dangerously close to traffic.

"(When ride-sharing online) selections are made at your computer and you meet up at a coffee shop or a similar public place."

At the end of your PickupPal experience you are called to post a review of your driver/passenger to give other members something to go by so that any nasties can be ruled out.

The main appeal of hitchhiking is that it's free but hitching experiences are unpredictable, Dunford says.

"I think it can be a good social experience. It can be a bad social experience. It's a good and a bad thing."

If you aren't scared off then bare in mind a few little pointers from Dunford:

- Being young and free is best: "I think it's a pretty rough way to live so if you are going to hitchhike, I think you've got to be pretty young and pretty flexible. As you get older, if you're going to a conference in Sydney or something you can't hitch there. It gets a little bit more difficult."

- Don't be in a rush: "You have to not get anywhere in a hurry."

- Keep an open mind: "You have to be pretty open to it."

- Don't be naive: "Do it with with safety and make sure you have a bit of a think about what you're doing."

- There's safety in numbers: "Single girls shouldn't do it alone ... go in a pair or go as a couple."

and Dunford's golden rule:

- Trust your instincts: "If you're going to jump in a car with someone just make sure you feel good about it, like you feel like you can trust them. If you think something's going to be dodgy then it probably is."

Visit: http://www.pickuppal.com

The Big Trip will be released in November, RRP$29.95

AAP