| Slugging |
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| transportation in washington, d.c. | |
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Slugging is the practice of forming ad-hoc, informal carpools for purposes of Commuting , essentially a variation of Ride-share commuting and Hitchhiking . While the practice is most common and most publicized in the congested Washington, D.C. area (where it is primarily used by commuters who live in Northern Virginia ), slugging is also used in San Francisco , Pittsburgh , and other U.S. cities. http://www.slug-lines.com/News_Announcements/News_Slugs_and_Bodysnatchers.asp Sluggers gather at local businesses1 and at government run metro locations, albeit not always with official sanction. 2 In order to relieve traffic volume during the morning and evening Rush Hour s, High-occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes were built in many major cities to encourage carpooling and ride-sharing. This creates a situation in which drivers wish to use the HOV Lane s but either don't know any co-workers who live nearby, or do not want to get involved in a formal ride-sharing agreement requiring multiple people to coordinate work schedules. Relying instead upon slugging benefits everyone, since the sluggers get a free ride in and out of the city, the drivers gain free access to the less-congested HOV lanes, the traffic load is reduced due to the higher frequency of Carpooling , and the Environment benefits by having fewer cars on the road idling in stop-and-go traffic. GENERAL PRACTICES In practice, slugging involves the creation of free, unofficial ad-hoc carpool networks, often complete with published routes and pick-up and drop-off locations. During rush hour, sluggers either drive to Park And Ride -like facilities, free Parking Lot s for carpoolers, or take Public Transport to bus stops and metro stations with lines of sluggers. Drivers pull up to the queue for the route they will follow and either display a sign or call out the designated drop-off point they are willing to drive to and how many passengers they can take. Enough riders step forward to fill the car and the driver departs. There are a number of unofficial rules to the arrangement: http://www.slug-lines.com/Slugging/Etiquette.asp
Websites have been created where sluggers can post warnings about the driving habits and behaviors of particular drivers. Some drivers have been known to react with outward anger when they see a slugger taking down their car's License Plate number, presuming that the slugger will be posting a warning not to accept rides from that driver, potentially ending that driver's ability to use the HOV lanes. REFERENCES NOTES FURTHER READING EXTERNAL LINKS |
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