As a little kid, I remember hitching rides from my grandpa. We'd stand at the end of the walk, and as he drove by we'd stick our thumbs out just as he'd taught us and then pile into the car when he slowed down to pick us up. I also remember hearing my dad tell stories about how for fun they used to pull up in front of hitchhikers and then as the hitchhikers got close to reaching the back door of the car, they'd peal off and leave the man standing there. But most of all I remember being told to never, ever, ever under any circumstances actually get into a car with someone I didn't know. Hitchhiking was like a legend. It wasn't something people really did, aside from the scraggly looking couple of men you'd sometimes catch walking up the interstate on-ramp. And I never actually saw anyone pick them up.
But apparently the times are changing. Hitchhiking is now vogue. It is the way to get around DC. But it's not called hitchhiking here...it's called slugging. And it doesn't involve randomly picking a street to walk down and hope that someone picks you up. And you don't even have to stick your thumb out to catch a ride.
Right outside of my office, on the corner of 14th & Independence, a line of people forms every evening around 5pm. There are actually a couple of lines, with many of them being lines for buses that run out to suburbs in Maryland and Northern Virginia. There is one line, however, that is different. This is the slug line. This line starts at the fire hydrant and continues down the road. In this line, people who are heading toward Potomac Mills, Virginia and the surrounding area stand and wait for drivers who are also headed in that direction to come by. You see, in order to use the HOV lanes in the area, you have to have 3 people in your car. And with traffic as terrible as it is around here, using the HOV lane can cut your travel time in half. So solo drivers pull up and announce to the first person in line where they are going. That person then passes the information down the line, and the first two people who are going to the same place hop in the car and head home with someone they have possibly never met before. If the driver doesn't get the two people he needs at this stop, he can go on up to another one since there are quite a few of these locations all over town.
To find out more about slugging, you can go to www.slug-lines.com. Here you can find a slugging location near you (both am and pm locations). You can rate slug-lines. You can find out when are the best times to use certain lines. You can check the Lost & Found board to see if that last driver you were with has found the sunglasses you can't seem to locate. And you can learn about the Rules & Etiquette of slugging. Here is a sampling: Slugs don't talk, unless conversation is initiated by the driver. Slugs don't smoke or eat. Slugs don't carry on long cell phone conversations. Both driver and slug say thank you at the beginning and end of the ride. No one offers or requests money. The line doesn't leave a woman standing alone....
Pretty interesting, don't you think? I can't help wondering how it got started and how it ended up so organized. Seriously, how did people first know where to go or how did they decide that getting in the car with a stranger might not be as taboo as their parents made it out to be? I'm tempted to give it a try. Maybe I'll check out the website and find a line that goes my way. At least it would make for an interesting life experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment