Is there a term for a free ride without consent?

single-word-requests

I think there should be a specific term for someone getting a free ride without consent, but I keep thinking of the word "hijack" which clearly isn't correct.

Examples include jumping on a train without a ticket, or riding without consent on the back of a truck. Or perhaps I want to sit in on someone else's meeting and just observe.

Am I gatecrashing? Or going along for a free ride?

Equally, if I hop on the roof of a train to get somewhere for free, is there a term for that?

Solution 1:

A stowaway is:

a person who hides aboard a vehicle, ship, or aircraft in order to gain free passage

(Collins Online Dictionary)

From Alexander Rein's The Blue Streak: A Hacker's Guide to Special Relativity:

For example, if a railroad train is passing by a bystander who is very close to the tracks and at the same time a stowaway on top of a railroad car is running in the forward direction, the Velocity of the stowaway relative to the bystander is simply the sum of the two Velocities: the ground velocity of the train and the Velocity of the stowaway relative to the train.

Solution 2:

In the UK at least, someone who rides public transport without paying for a ticket is called a 'fare dodger'

Fare Dodger - noun

1 - A person who deliberately avoids payment for public transport

www.wiktionary.org

However this term does not apply to someone riding without consent on the back of a truck [or other vehicle].

Solution 3:

"Watch out for Hop-Ons!"

Hop-ons are people who jump on to the back of the stair car for a free ride. They are a constant annoyance for the Bluth family members who must drive the stair car. (source)

Stair Car Hop On

If your vehicle was towing a small cabin, you would of course need to watch out for Live-Ins.

This is a running joke from the TV series Arrested Development, but "hop ons" would be an easily understood term for the situation. You even used it in the question!

Solution 4:

A free ride is a hitch:

(informal) a ride obtained by hitchhiking.

(Collins Dictionary)

Solution 5:

There is an archaic legal term 'bilking' which can be used in the sense of using a service and not paying for it. It would not cover sitting in on someone's lecture, but it could be used for getting a free ride by not paying for a ticket.

Here's the definition from The Free Dictionary