autostop

Definition

A coupon-based system of hitchhiking that operated in communist Poland from the 1950s until the 1990s.

Etymology

From auto- (automobile) + stop.

Example Sentences

• "Youth organizations have given autostop activity their stamp of approval."
• "Autostop members have an advantage over other hitchhikers, because drivers of state cars are allowed to pick up only hitchhikers who display the blue rule book, and most of the cars belong to the state."
• "Proponents of the system pronounced it a success, especially among the student youth. "The working class earns money and it can travel on buses or trains or airplanes, but students are the most happy, energetic people, and autostop is convenient for them," insisted one supporter in 1966."