Five years ago the project Cargo Hitching started with the goal to use the unused capacity of public transport passenger vehicles for freight and parcel transport. Like many new city logistics initiatives it is a difficult challenge to setup a profitable private business model. A rural pilot project was developed in the East of the Netherlands, building on Dutch government funding (Dinalog), with several Dutch universities, the province of Gelderland, public transport service provider Connexxion and city logistics service provider Binnenstadservice. The paper describes how viability for the cargo hitching project was organized, providing important social and environmental benefits as well as a sustainable business model for the system.