"Neighborhood Hitch-n-Pool"

Or at least that's the best name that i've come up with so far. 'Open to better ones.

In short, the idea is that if both riders & drivers were registered (and they've passed a background check), there should be less fear & inhibition to this sort of "casual" ridesharing. Riders & drivers would both possess ID cards... thinking something color-coded (for the neighborhood / destination), reflective (for night visibility), and laminated (for durability). Riders can wait in designated locations, such that it's obvious where they're trying to go... so a driver who's only going a short distance needn't slow / stop for a rider that's going on much further or in an altogether different direction, making things much more efficient for all.
Also, since it's likely that regular/frequent hitchers & drivers may eventually perceive the commonality in their respective schedules, it's only natural that carpooling would evolve out of the program.
To perhaps help incentivise drivers, we could explore the possibility of having tokens or something that hitchers can give to drivers... redeemable for say, fuel, coffee, bagles... etc..
We might also explore making the hitch-n-pool part of a "package" deal for neighborhoods. Other components of the package might include EcoPasses, membership in B-Cycle & eGo CarShare, etc..

OK, 'acknowledge that this is just a stop-gap measure...
ultimately, of course, we need to move beyond cars.

These folks have been doing "The Reg" in San Geronimo, CA (now a dead link!) for a while.
Presently, their program has gone dormant because the area has more recently established excellent bus service that fairly well negates the need for it. 'Wonderful that they've left their website in place, "...in the hope of inspiring other communities...", like ours!

Been there, done that: