Slugging: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Slug Line.gif|thumb|350px|right|A "slug line" of passengers waiting for rides]] |
[[File:Slug Line.gif|thumb|350px|right|A "slug line" of passengers waiting for rides]] |
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'''Slugging''',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sluglines.com|title= |
'''Slugging''',<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.sluglines.com | title=What are Sluglines | publisher=Sluglines}}</ref> also known as '''casual carpooling''' and '''flexible carpooling''',<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://trid.trb.org/view/1538655 | title=Flexible Carpooling: A Compendium | publisher=[[National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine]]}}</ref> is the practice of forming [[ad hoc]], informal [[carpool]]s for purposes of [[commuting]], essentially a variation of [[hitchhiking]]. A driver picks up these non-paying passengers (known as "slugs" or "sluggers") at key locations, as having these additional passengers means that the driver can qualify to use an [[HOV]] lane or not be subject to [[road pricing]]. Slugging is common mostly in the U.S.,<ref name=abroad/> specifically in major cities such as the [[Washington metropolitan area]], [[San Francisco]], [[Houston]]. |
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The essence of the systems is the use of a meeting-place to form carpools, without any advance contact between the participants. For people wishing to carpool, going to a meeting place is a very low-effort method for getting into a carpool, compared with any other system that involves contacting potential riders or drivers in advance, and arranging the trip. The key is that other people are also coming to the meeting place, and there need to be sufficient people traveling from any one meeting-place to the common destination so that the waiting time to form a carpool is acceptable. |
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Slug lines are generally organized and maintained by volunteers, although there has been government involvement in organization as well. |
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==Background== |
==Background== |
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In order to relieve traffic volume during the morning and evening [[rush hour]]s, [[high-occupancy vehicle lane |
In order to relieve traffic volume during the morning and evening [[rush hour]]s, [[high-occupancy vehicle lane]]s that require more than one person per automobile were introduced in many major American cities to encourage [[carpool]]ing and greater use of [[public transport]], first appearing in the [[Washington Metropolitan Area|Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Area]] in 1975. |
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The failure of the new lanes to relieve congestion, and frustration over failures of public-transport systems and high fuel prices, led to the creation in the 1970s of "slugging", a form of hitchhiking between strangers that is beneficial to both parties, as drivers and passengers are able to use the HOV lane for a quicker trip. While passengers are able to travel for free, or cheaper than via other modes of travel, and HOV drivers sometimes pay no tolls, "slugs are, above all, motivated by time saved, not money pocketed". Concern for the environment is not their primary motivation. |
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In the Washington area—with the second-busiest traffic during rush hour in the United States and Canada {{asof|2010|alt=as of 2010}}<ref name="quain20101124">{{cite news | url=http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/new-york-has-worst-traffic-in-north-america-report-says/ | access-date=March 8, 2011 | title=New York Has Worst Traffic in U.S. and Canada, Report Says | author=Quain, John R. | date=2010-11-24 | work=The New York Times}}</ref>—slugging occurs on Interstates [[Interstate 95|95]], [[Interstate 66|66]] and [[Interstate 395 (District of Columbia–Virginia)|395]] between Washington and [[Northern Virginia]].<ref name="dcmap">{{cite web | url=http://www.slug-lines.com/Slugging/Map.asp | title=Map of Slugging Sites in Washington DC | access-date=March 7, 2011 | publisher=slug-lines.com}}</ref> As of 2006, there were about 6,459 daily slugging participants there.<ref name="ChanShhaheen">[http://emergingridesharingsolutions.wikispaces.com/file/view/TRB11-3038.pdf Chan, Nelson and Susan Shaheen. "Ridesharing in North America: Past, Present, and Future." Transportation Research Board, 2010.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110626132446/http://emergingridesharingsolutions.wikispaces.com/file/view/TRB11-3038.pdf |date=2011-06-26 }}</ref> |
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In the Washington area, slugging occurs on Interstates [[Interstate 95|95]], [[Interstate 66|66]] and [[Interstate 395 (District of Columbia–Virginia)|395]] between Washington and [[Northern Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.slug-lines.com/Slugging/Map.asp | title=Map of Slugging Sites in Washington DC | publisher=slug-lines.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://archive.nytimes.com/wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/new-york-has-worst-traffic-in-north-america-report-says/ | title=New York Has Worst Traffic in U.S. and Canada, Report Says | last=Quain | first=John R. | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=November 24, 2010}}</ref> Slugging is said to work well in Washington because it is a "unique mix of a small city center, clogged highway arteries, and expensive toll roads".<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a44039917/in-washington-dcs-secret-carpool-cabal-its-a-daily-slug-fest/ | title=In Washington, D.C.'s Secret Carpool Cabal, It's a Daily Slug Fest | first=Elana | last=Scherr | work=[[Car and Driver]] | date=June 10, 2023}}</ref> |
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In the San Francisco Bay Area, with the third-busiest rush hour,{{r|quain20101124}} casual carpooling occurs on [[Interstate 80]] between the [[East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)|East Bay]] and [[San Francisco]]. As of 1998, 8,000 to 9,000 people slugged in San Francisco daily.<ref name="ChanShhaheen" /> However, after bridge tolls were levied on carpool vehicles in 2010, casual carpooling saw a significant decline and etiquette became more uncertain.<ref>[http://ibrc.fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/pdfs/revenue/resources/webinars/webinar_congestion_pricing_033011.pdf Lee, Linda and Karen Frick. "San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge Congestion Pricing." Bay Area Toll Authority, 2011.]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Among the effects of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area]] was the end of casual carpooling in March 2020. |
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In the San Francisco Bay Area, casual carpooling occurs on [[Interstate 80]] between the [[East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)|East Bay]] and [[San Francisco]]. Usage was slow to recover after the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.berkeleyside.org/2022/11/20/casual-carpool-bay-bridge-covid-traffi | last=Savidge | first=Nico | title=Casual Carpool was a Bay Area tradition before COVID. Can it make a comeback? | work=[[Berkeleyside]] | date=November 20, 2022}}</ref> Several smartphone apps have been developed.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://omny.fm/shows/kqed-segmented-audio/what-happened-to-casual-carpool#description | last=Brekke | first=Dan | title=What Happened to Casual Carpool? | work=[[KQED-FM]] | date=October 19, 2023}}</ref> |
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Slugging also occurs in |
Slugging also occurs in [[Houston]],<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.chron.com/news/columnists/falkenberg/article/slugs-avoid-the-slow-lane-1819496.php | title=Slugs avoid the slow lane | last=Falkenberg | first=Lisa | work=[[Houston Chronicle]] | date=July 2, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=http://www.nctr.usf.edu/jpt/jptv9n5.htm |title=Slugging in Houston—Casual Carpool Passenger Characteristics | journal=Journal of Public Transportation | year=2006 | volume=9 | last1=Burris | first1=Mark W. | last2=Justin R. | first2=Winn | issue=5 | pages=23–40 | doi=10.5038/2375-0901.9.5.2 | doi-access=free}}</ref> and in [[Pittsburgh]].<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://www.slug-lines.com/News_Announcements/News_Slugs_and_Bodysnatchers.asp | title=Slugs and Bodysnatchers | website=slug-lines.com | date=June 1, 1997}}</ref> |
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Slugging is shown to be effective in reducing vehicle travel distance as a form of ridesharing.<ref> |
Slugging is shown to be effective in reducing vehicle travel distance as a form of ridesharing.<ref>{{cite web | first1=Shuo | last1=Ma | first2=Ouri | last2=Wolfson | date=November 5, 2013 | url=https://www.cs.uic.edu/~sma/Papers/slugging_sigspatial_camery_ready.pdf | title=Analysis and Evaluation of the Slugging Form of Ridesharing; Proceedings of the 21st ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems}}</ref> |
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Slugging is more used during morning commutes than evening commutes. |
Slugging is more used during morning commutes than evening commutes. The most common mode that slugging replaces is the [[transit bus]].<ref>{{Cite web | work=Journal of Public Transportation | year=2006 | first1=Mark W. | last1=Burris | first2=Justin R. | last2=Winn | url=https://ceprofs.tamu.edu/mburris/Papers/Slugging%20in%20Houston.pdf | title=Slugging in Houston—Casual Carpool Passenger Characteristics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813032304/https://ceprofs.tamu.edu/mburris/Papers/Slugging%20in%20Houston.pdf | archive-date=August 13, 2014 | url-status=live}}</ref> |
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[[David D. Friedman]]'s ''[[The Machinery of Freedom]]'' proposed a similar system (which he referred to as "jitney transit") in the 1970s. However, his plan assumed that passengers would be expected to pay for their transit, and that security measures such as electronic identification cards (recording the identity of both driver and passenger in a database readily available to police, in the event one or both parties disappeared) would be needed in order for people to feel safe.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Machinery of Freedom|url=https://archive.org/details/machineryoffreed00frie|url-access=registration| |
[[David D. Friedman]]'s ''[[The Machinery of Freedom]]'' proposed a similar system (which he referred to as "jitney transit") in the 1970s. However, his plan assumed that passengers would be expected to pay for their transit, and that security measures such as electronic identification cards (recording the identity of both driver and passenger in a database readily available to police, in the event one or both parties disappeared) would be needed in order for people to feel safe.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Machinery of Freedom | url=https://archive.org/details/machineryoffreed00frie | url-access=registration | last=Friedman | first=David D. | pages=[https://archive.org/details/machineryoffreed00frie/page/75 75–77] | chapter=99 and 44/100ths Percent Built | year=1989 | isbn=0-8126-9068-0}}</ref> |
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Although slugging is informal, ad hoc, and free, in 30 years no violence or crime was reported from Washington D.C. slugging until October 2010, when former [[Sergeant Major of the Army]] [[Gene McKinney]] struck one of his passengers with his car after they threatened to report his reckless driving to the police.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://wtop.com/news/2011/12/ex-army-sergeant-major-gets-weekend-in-jail-for-slugging-incident/ | title=Sergeant Major Gets Weekend in Jail for Slugging Incident | last=Augenstein | first=Neal | work=[[WTOP-FM]] | date=December 11, 2011}}</ref> |
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==Etymology== |
==Etymology== |
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The term ''slug'' (used as both a noun and a verb) came from bus drivers who had to determine if the people waiting at the stop were genuine bus passengers or merely people wanting a free lift, in the same way that they look out for fake coins—or "[[slug (coin)|slug]]s"—being thrown into the fare-collection box.{{ |
The term ''slug'' (used as both a noun and a verb) came from bus drivers who had to determine if the people waiting at the stop were genuine bus passengers or merely people wanting a free lift, in the same way that they look out for fake coins—or "[[slug (coin)|slug]]s"—being thrown into the fare-collection box.<ref name=slog/><ref name=abroad>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4824614.stm | title=Car-sharing more common abroad | work=[[BBC News]] | date=March 20, 2006}}</ref> |
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==General practices== |
==General practices== |
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In practice, slugging involves the creation of free, unofficial ad hoc carpool networks, often with published routes and pick-up and drop-off locations. In the morning, sluggers gather at local businesses and at government-run locations such as [[park and ride]]-like facilities or bus stops and subway 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; in the Washington area [[the Pentagon]]—the largest place of employment in the United States, with 25,000 workers—is a popular destination. Enough riders fill the car and the driver departs. In the evening, the routes reverse.<ref name= |
In practice, slugging involves the creation of free, unofficial ad hoc carpool networks, often with published routes and pick-up and drop-off locations. In the morning, sluggers gather at local businesses and at government-run locations such as [[park and ride]]-like facilities or bus stops and subway 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; in the Washington area [[the Pentagon]]—the largest place of employment in the United States, with 25,000 workers—is a popular destination. Enough riders fill the car and the driver departs. In the evening, the routes reverse.<ref name=slog>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3134002.stm | title='Slugging' to avoid Washington slog | work=[[BBC News]] | last=Clarke | first=Rachel | date=October 15, 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://smartgrowthamerica.org/slugging-saves-dc-metro-drivers-and-riders-time-and-money/ | title=Slugging saves DC/VA Drivers and Riders Time and Money | date=July 14, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=LeBlanc | first=David E. | title=Slugging: The Commuting Alternative for Washington, DC | year=1999 | isbn=0-9673211-0-7 | publisher=Forel Pub. | location=East Point, GA}}</ref> |
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Many unofficial rules of etiquette exist, and websites allow sluggers to post warnings about those who break them.<ref |
Many unofficial rules of etiquette exist, and websites allow sluggers to post warnings about those who break them. These include:<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://blog.sluglines.com/2013/01/slugging-etiquette-is-just-common-sense.html | title=Slugging etiquette is just common sense! | website=sluglines.com}}</ref> |
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* The slug first in line gets the next ride to their destination and also gets to choose the front or back seat. Slugs should never take a ride out of turn. |
* The slug first in line gets the next ride to their destination and also gets to choose the front or back seat. Slugs should never take a ride out of turn. |
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* Drivers are not to pick up sluggers en |
* Drivers are not to pick up sluggers en-route to or standing outside the line, a practice referred to as "body snatching". |
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* A woman is not to be left in the line alone, for her safety. |
* A woman is not to be left in the line alone, for her safety. |
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* No eating, smoking, or putting on of makeup is allowed. |
* No eating, smoking, or putting on of makeup is allowed. |
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Line 38: | Line 44: | ||
* Windows may not be opened unless the driver approves. |
* Windows may not be opened unless the driver approves. |
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* No money is exchanged or requested, as the driver and slugs all benefit from slugging. |
* No money is exchanged or requested, as the driver and slugs all benefit from slugging. |
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* Driver and passengers say "Thank you" at the end. |
* Driver and passengers say "Thank you" at the end. |
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==Government involvement== |
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While local governments sometimes aid sluggers by posting signs labeled with popular destinations for people to queue at, slugging is organized by its participants and no slug line has ever been created by government. Slug lines are organized and maintained by volunteers. Government officials have become more aware of sluggers' needs when planning changes that affect their behavior, and solicit their suggestions.{{r|badger20110307}} The [[Virginia Department of Transportation]] even includes links on their governmental webpage regarding slugging.<ref>[http://www.virginiadot.org/travel/hov-rulesfaq.asp High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes - Rules and FAQs]. Virginiadot.org. Retrieved on 2013-08-15.</ref> |
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==Other examples== |
==Other examples== |
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In France, spontaneous carpool lines have been established in rural municipalities by [[:fr:Ecov|Ecov]] using electronic signs and smartphone apps to alert drivers of waiting riders.<ref>{{Cite web | |
In France, spontaneous carpool lines have been established in rural municipalities by [[:fr:Ecov|Ecov]] using electronic signs and smartphone apps to alert drivers of waiting riders.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Reducing commuter traffic in Val de Saône with carpooling (France) | url=https://www.eltis.org/discover/case-studies/reducing-commuter-traffic-val-de-saone-carpooling-france | website=eltis.org | date=June 13, 2019}}</ref> |
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In [[Jakarta]], "[[car jockey]]s" had been paid by commuters to ride into the center of the city to permit the use of [[high-occupancy vehicle lane]]s<ref> |
In [[Jakarta]], "[[car jockey]]s" had been paid by commuters to ride into the center of the city to permit the use of [[high-occupancy vehicle lane]]s<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://www.smh.com.au/world/jakartas-jockeys-in-demand-as-gridlock-drives-city-to-despair-20120203-1qxpn.html | title=Jakarta's jockeys in demand as gridlock drives city to despair]. | work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] | date=February 4, 2012}}</ref> until the lanes were eliminated in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/07/06/technology/culture/jakarta-hov-lanes/index.html| title=A city scraps its HOV lanes. Disaster ensues. | last=McFarland | first=Matt | work=[[CNN]] | date=July 6, 2017}}</ref> |
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From 1979 to 1980, [[Marin County, California]], implemented a flexible carpooling system using as meeting points several major intersections near bus stops.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/IDEA/FinalReports/Transit/Transit61.pdf | title=Flexible Carpooling to Transit Stations | first=Paul | last=Minett | publisher=[[National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine]] | date=June 2013}}</ref> |
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In 2009, the Washington State Legislature set aside $400,000 for a pilot project to test meeting-place based carpooling in the SR 520 corridor of Seattle incorporating the [[Avego]] smartphone ridematching system.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://app.leg.wa.gov/ReportsToTheLegislature/Home/GetPDF?fileName=Carpool%20Pilot%20Project%20Interim%20Report_e05cb8c1-a9b3-4fcd-a5b3-c5a3ee15885b.pdf | title=Carpool Pilot Project Interim Report to the Legislature | publisher=[[Washington State Department of Transportation]] | date=February 2011}}</ref> |
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In 2010, the [[Auckland Regional Transport Authority]] considered a flexible carpooling proposal by Trip Convergence Ltd.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/central-leader/4032053/Easing-congestion-and-saving-money | title=Easing congestion and saving money | last=Horrell | first=Rhiannon |work=[[Stuff.co.nz]] | date=18 August 2010}}</ref> |
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In India, it is illegal for drivers to randomly pick up commuters from the public roads and there is evidence that such drivers have been fined. |
In India, it is illegal for drivers to randomly pick up commuters from the public roads and there is evidence that such drivers have been fined. |
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Line 55: | Line 64: | ||
* [[Ride-sharing bench]] |
* [[Ride-sharing bench]] |
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* [[Ridesharing company]] |
* [[Ridesharing company]] |
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* [[Flexible carpooling]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist |
{{Reflist}} |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
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* {{cite news |url=http://slug-lines.com/News_Announcements/News_The_Hill.asp |title=Slugging solution is too simple for experts |work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |date=August 3, 2005}} |
* {{cite news | url=http://slug-lines.com/News_Announcements/News_The_Hill.asp |title=Slugging solution is too simple for experts | work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] | date=August 3, 2005}} |
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* {{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4824614.stm |title=Car-sharing more common abroad |publisher=BBC News |date=March 20, 2006}} |
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* {{cite news |url=http://www.nbc4.com/news/13494179/detail.html |title=Slug Lines Save Time, Money |publisher=NBC4 |date=June 13, 2007}} |
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* {{cite book | author=LeBlanc, David E. | title=Slugging: The Commuting Alternative for Washington, DC | year=1999 | isbn=0-9673211-0-7 | publisher=Forel Pub. | location=East Point, GA}} |
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{{Commons category| |
{{Commons category|Commuting}} |
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{{Public transport}} |
{{Public transport}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
{{Authority control}} |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Carsharing]] |
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[[Category:Commuting]] |
[[Category:Commuting]] |
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[[Category:Culture of Washington, D.C.]] |
[[Category:Culture of Washington, D.C.]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Hitchhiking]] |
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Latest revision as of 15:32, 25 October 2024
The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (June 2017) |
Slugging,[1] also known as casual carpooling and flexible carpooling,[2] is the practice of forming ad hoc, informal carpools for purposes of commuting, essentially a variation of hitchhiking. A driver picks up these non-paying passengers (known as "slugs" or "sluggers") at key locations, as having these additional passengers means that the driver can qualify to use an HOV lane or not be subject to road pricing. Slugging is common mostly in the U.S.,[3] specifically in major cities such as the Washington metropolitan area, San Francisco, Houston.
The essence of the systems is the use of a meeting-place to form carpools, without any advance contact between the participants. For people wishing to carpool, going to a meeting place is a very low-effort method for getting into a carpool, compared with any other system that involves contacting potential riders or drivers in advance, and arranging the trip. The key is that other people are also coming to the meeting place, and there need to be sufficient people traveling from any one meeting-place to the common destination so that the waiting time to form a carpool is acceptable.
Slug lines are generally organized and maintained by volunteers, although there has been government involvement in organization as well.
Background
[edit]In order to relieve traffic volume during the morning and evening rush hours, high-occupancy vehicle lanes that require more than one person per automobile were introduced in many major American cities to encourage carpooling and greater use of public transport, first appearing in the Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Area in 1975.
The failure of the new lanes to relieve congestion, and frustration over failures of public-transport systems and high fuel prices, led to the creation in the 1970s of "slugging", a form of hitchhiking between strangers that is beneficial to both parties, as drivers and passengers are able to use the HOV lane for a quicker trip. While passengers are able to travel for free, or cheaper than via other modes of travel, and HOV drivers sometimes pay no tolls, "slugs are, above all, motivated by time saved, not money pocketed". Concern for the environment is not their primary motivation.
In the Washington area, slugging occurs on Interstates 95, 66 and 395 between Washington and Northern Virginia.[4][5] Slugging is said to work well in Washington because it is a "unique mix of a small city center, clogged highway arteries, and expensive toll roads".[6]
In the San Francisco Bay Area, casual carpooling occurs on Interstate 80 between the East Bay and San Francisco. Usage was slow to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] Several smartphone apps have been developed.[8]
Slugging also occurs in Houston,[9][10] and in Pittsburgh.[11]
Slugging is shown to be effective in reducing vehicle travel distance as a form of ridesharing.[12]
Slugging is more used during morning commutes than evening commutes. The most common mode that slugging replaces is the transit bus.[13]
David D. Friedman's The Machinery of Freedom proposed a similar system (which he referred to as "jitney transit") in the 1970s. However, his plan assumed that passengers would be expected to pay for their transit, and that security measures such as electronic identification cards (recording the identity of both driver and passenger in a database readily available to police, in the event one or both parties disappeared) would be needed in order for people to feel safe.[14]
Although slugging is informal, ad hoc, and free, in 30 years no violence or crime was reported from Washington D.C. slugging until October 2010, when former Sergeant Major of the Army Gene McKinney struck one of his passengers with his car after they threatened to report his reckless driving to the police.[15]
Etymology
[edit]The term slug (used as both a noun and a verb) came from bus drivers who had to determine if the people waiting at the stop were genuine bus passengers or merely people wanting a free lift, in the same way that they look out for fake coins—or "slugs"—being thrown into the fare-collection box.[16][3]
General practices
[edit]In practice, slugging involves the creation of free, unofficial ad hoc carpool networks, often with published routes and pick-up and drop-off locations. In the morning, sluggers gather at local businesses and at government-run locations such as park and ride-like facilities or bus stops and subway 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; in the Washington area the Pentagon—the largest place of employment in the United States, with 25,000 workers—is a popular destination. Enough riders fill the car and the driver departs. In the evening, the routes reverse.[16][17][18]
Many unofficial rules of etiquette exist, and websites allow sluggers to post warnings about those who break them. These include:[19]
- The slug first in line gets the next ride to their destination and also gets to choose the front or back seat. Slugs should never take a ride out of turn.
- Drivers are not to pick up sluggers en-route to or standing outside the line, a practice referred to as "body snatching".
- A woman is not to be left in the line alone, for her safety.
- No eating, smoking, or putting on of makeup is allowed.
- The driver has full control of the radio and climate controls.
- Windows may not be opened unless the driver approves.
- No money is exchanged or requested, as the driver and slugs all benefit from slugging.
- Driver and passengers say "Thank you" at the end.
Other examples
[edit]In France, spontaneous carpool lines have been established in rural municipalities by Ecov using electronic signs and smartphone apps to alert drivers of waiting riders.[20]
In Jakarta, "car jockeys" had been paid by commuters to ride into the center of the city to permit the use of high-occupancy vehicle lanes[21] until the lanes were eliminated in 2017.[22]
From 1979 to 1980, Marin County, California, implemented a flexible carpooling system using as meeting points several major intersections near bus stops.[23]
In 2009, the Washington State Legislature set aside $400,000 for a pilot project to test meeting-place based carpooling in the SR 520 corridor of Seattle incorporating the Avego smartphone ridematching system.[24]
In 2010, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority considered a flexible carpooling proposal by Trip Convergence Ltd.[25]
In India, it is illegal for drivers to randomly pick up commuters from the public roads and there is evidence that such drivers have been fined.
In the Polish People's Republic, hitchhiking was officially supported by the government (and formalized), and in Cuba, government vehicles are obligated to take hitchhikers, but these systems have nothing to do with high-occupancy lanes.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "What are Sluglines". Sluglines.
- ^ "Flexible Carpooling: A Compendium". National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
- ^ a b "Car-sharing more common abroad". BBC News. March 20, 2006.
- ^ "Map of Slugging Sites in Washington DC". slug-lines.com.
- ^ Quain, John R. (November 24, 2010). "New York Has Worst Traffic in U.S. and Canada, Report Says". The New York Times.
- ^ Scherr, Elana (June 10, 2023). "In Washington, D.C.'s Secret Carpool Cabal, It's a Daily Slug Fest". Car and Driver.
- ^ Savidge, Nico (November 20, 2022). "Casual Carpool was a Bay Area tradition before COVID. Can it make a comeback?". Berkeleyside.
- ^ Brekke, Dan (October 19, 2023). "What Happened to Casual Carpool?". KQED-FM.
- ^ Falkenberg, Lisa (July 2, 2007). "Slugs avoid the slow lane". Houston Chronicle.
- ^ Burris, Mark W.; Justin R., Winn (2006). "Slugging in Houston—Casual Carpool Passenger Characteristics". Journal of Public Transportation. 9 (5): 23–40. doi:10.5038/2375-0901.9.5.2.
- ^ "Slugs and Bodysnatchers". slug-lines.com. June 1, 1997.
- ^ Ma, Shuo; Wolfson, Ouri (November 5, 2013). "Analysis and Evaluation of the Slugging Form of Ridesharing; Proceedings of the 21st ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems" (PDF).
- ^ Burris, Mark W.; Winn, Justin R. (2006). "Slugging in Houston—Casual Carpool Passenger Characteristics" (PDF). Journal of Public Transportation. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 13, 2014.
- ^ Friedman, David D. (1989). "99 and 44/100ths Percent Built". The Machinery of Freedom. pp. 75–77. ISBN 0-8126-9068-0.
- ^ Augenstein, Neal (December 11, 2011). "Sergeant Major Gets Weekend in Jail for Slugging Incident". WTOP-FM.
- ^ a b Clarke, Rachel (October 15, 2003). "'Slugging' to avoid Washington slog". BBC News.
- ^ "Slugging saves DC/VA Drivers and Riders Time and Money". July 14, 2011.
- ^ LeBlanc, David E. (1999). Slugging: The Commuting Alternative for Washington, DC. East Point, GA: Forel Pub. ISBN 0-9673211-0-7.
- ^ "Slugging etiquette is just common sense!". sluglines.com.
- ^ "Reducing commuter traffic in Val de Saône with carpooling (France)". eltis.org. June 13, 2019.
- ^ "Jakarta's jockeys in demand as gridlock drives city to despair]". The Sydney Morning Herald. February 4, 2012.
- ^ McFarland, Matt (July 6, 2017). "A city scraps its HOV lanes. Disaster ensues". CNN.
- ^ Minett, Paul (June 2013). "Flexible Carpooling to Transit Stations" (PDF). National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
- ^ "Carpool Pilot Project Interim Report to the Legislature" (PDF). Washington State Department of Transportation. February 2011.
- ^ Horrell, Rhiannon (18 August 2010). "Easing congestion and saving money". Stuff.co.nz.
Further reading
[edit]- "Slugging solution is too simple for experts". The Hill. August 3, 2005.
- Cohen, Randy (December 14, 2003). "The Ethicist:New Behavior". The New York Times.
- FHWA Casual Carpooling Scan Report, November 17–December 8, 2010