This article is asinine. Hitch hiking never went away. Maybe it's been less visible for the class of people who can get Op-Eds published in the New York Times, but it's gone on as normal long past the time of its "murder" given in this article.
It's a commonly-repeated myth that hitching is illegal in the U.S. Most states simply have laws making it illegal to stand on the "travelled portion of a public way", which is a stupid way to hitch anyway. See http://hitchwiki.org/en/United_States_of_America for details.
As someone who has been [arrested | note: it's complicated. None of my 'offenses' were ultimately criminal, and I have no record.] for hitchhiking multiple times (and hitchhiked over tens of thousands of miles before turning 20)– nobody cares. Argue all you want, but unless you're grossly mistreated (and that's by their definition, not yours) in custody, I doubt even the most local branch of the ACLU will give a damn about your claim. Do I think it's stupid? Of course. But it still doesn't fly everywhere, and wherever you go you have to be able to figure out the turf if you don't want a hefty fine or a night of 'lodging' or more. Obviously, it gets much worse if you're a minor– and good luck convincing anyone if you're emancipated.
For me, hitchhiking (in Ireland) stopped overnight in 1997. One day it was there, and the next it was gone. Hell, I used to hitch home from the nightclub at 3am.
It's a commonly-repeated myth that hitching is illegal in the U.S. Most states simply have laws making it illegal to stand on the "travelled portion of a public way", which is a stupid way to hitch anyway. See http://hitchwiki.org/en/United_States_of_America for details.
See http://hitchwiki.org for tips if you want to get in on the fun.