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A normally monotonous and long drive down highways is now an opportunity for students to earn money and help other aggies.
Texas A & M’s transportation division recently partnered with a driver service provider Towing hitch to provide students with additional opportunities to leave College Station. CEO Kush Singh started the business in January 2019 as a newcomer to the University of Texas at Austin.
“I always have that Greyhound and the Megabus between Dallas and Austin, ”said Singh. “Sitting on the bus was the most time-consuming event of the entire experience, but ironically, it was part of too [the] I experience [looked] forward to the very least. ”
The company encourages drivers who are already on a popular route to take others with them and earn money in the process. Trailer vehicles are 4-door sedans that make it easy for students to book individual seats or the entire car for groups.
“[It] was not just reinventing the wheel when booking buses or tracking buses, but actually trying to create an alternative transportation option that is incredibly affordable and accessible to everyone, ”said Singh. “[And] an experience that many will look forward to now. ”
With a network of drivers with background checking, Hitch enables students to travel freely without owning a car. Singh said one of his goals for Hitch is to build confidence and safety among drivers by completing background checks and starting offering rides for women only.
“No car pooling will be real [commit] about that, and I think we did, ”said Singh. “I think that was a really strong thing, not just in College Station but all of Texas.”
Singh said he wanted Hitch to have the experience so the driver and driver could avoid extra work to coordinate the car pool. A&M offers three convenient pick-up locations near the Commons Dorms, Rec Center and Northgate.
“The interesting thing about our model compared to a traditional rideshare company like Uber and Lyft is that it offsets the cost of the drivers who are already going in that direction,” said Singh. “Over 95 percent of people who travel between cities don’t make a single penny from their empty seats, and really the way we calculate prices is such that we can offset 100 percent of the gasoline cost per trip for each driver. “
Current hitch driver and former UT student Sherri Naqvi said she was introduced to the company as a freshman.
“Around the second year I started using the platform myself when [a] Passenger, ”said Naqvi. “I would go home a couple of times to Houston where my family is. I liked it much better than taking the Megabus. It just felt a lot nicer to sit in a nice car that consisted only of you and maybe someone else, and I really felt comfortable there. “
During the initial COVID-19 lockdown, Hitch adapted its services to ship packages and goods across the state of Texas. The company offers same-day delivery, which can be booked on the same day or up to 60 days in advance, depending on the customer’s wishes website.
“If you were in Austin and had to send your mother a cake by tomorrow, I’d like to take that away because I’m going to Houston,” Naqvi said. “I would just put it in my car and deliver it to her.”
Debbie Lollar, executive director of A & M’s Transportation Services, said in an email to The Battalion Hitch is receiving questions from students looking to travel between cities. Students can visit the transport services website for all mobility offers.
“We’re also promoting our partnerships with inter-city travel providers with new students and parents looking to explore the options of getting to college station without a vehicle,” Lollar said in the email. “We now have several options such as the inter-city / break shuttle, the airport shuttle, the Smart Trips Ride Matching Service and Hitch.”
For more information on Hitch and other A&M Transportation services, please visit their website.
Editor’s Note: Assistant News Editor Nathan Varnell contributed to this article.
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