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On the one hand, there is a lot of local traffic and even though there will be a lot of cars and usually many traffic jams, the most cars won't go in your direction.
Even worse is the fact, that there are almost no service areas or gas stations directly at the motorway, which means, no good places to get dropped of, and no good places to start. The service areas that are there can be found on the site of [http://www.tank.rast.de/standorte/servicenetz/index.php Tank & Rast], click anywhere between [[Bielefeld]] and [[Aachen]] for the detail map of the Ruhrgebiet.
== Transiting ==
When coming from the East on the A2 and having a ride that goes to somewhere into the Ruhr Area, it's recommended to get dropped at ''Rhynern'', a big service area close before the Ruhr Area. From there you can get a ride to south (direction [[Cologne]]), or maybe to the [[Netherlands]].
When coming from the West, it will be is quite difficult to cross the Area. A good place could be Resonable places are* the service area ''Ohligser Heide'', close to [[Düsseldorf]], which is difficult to reach by hitching, but easy to reach by public transport.* the service area ''Aachener Land'', just east of [[Aachen]], which is just after the Dutch and Belgian borders.* the service area ''Frechen'', close to [[Köln]], if your driver, most likely coming out of the [[Netherlands]] or [[Belgium]], goes past Aachen, but not as far as Köln.
== Hitching out ==
Good places to hitch out of the Ruhr Area are few and far between. You'll usually have to find a sympathetic person to drop you off there, or spend a bit of time on the VRR website to figure out what buses/trams to take and where to change.
=== Towards Cologne and the South ===
The A52 runs through Essen and Mühlheim and joins the A3 running between the Dutch border in the North and Cologne/Frankfurt in the South. There's a good on-ramp onto the A52 near the Essen/Mühlheim air strip, reachable by bus (to a stop called "Abzweig Flughafen"); with dense traffic even on Sundays. Take a sign saying A3 south. There's service areas before Cologne, so you'll have the chance to change rides there.
=== Towards the Netherlands (North-west) ===
Compare instructions to go to Cologne, just have your sign say A3 north.