Oddball Slug Lot

S goes to a different slug lot than me, and their system is a little different. The lot she goes to is much smaller than the one I go to in the morning. Their lot is structured so that on one side of the lot is a line of people and cars that go over the 14th street bridge, and on the other side is a line that goes over the Memorial Bridge into DC. This is as opposed to both of the other lots I've gone to where everyone stands in one line, and all the cars are in one line corresponding to it. The benefits of this are that in case the driver changes their mind because of the lack of riders, or if the riders change their destination due to the lack of cars, they can adjust and won't have to change sides of the lot or anything.

It's also different from the lot I go to in that, some of the drivers get out of their car and approach the line of slugs to see where everyone's destination is and just wait there until they find two riders. That's very strange to me. Why would you want to get out of your car into the cold or heat to wait for riders when you could sit in your car and listen to the radio or something. Plus it just makes everything disorganized. It's hard to tell the difference between drivers and riders when you show up, so there's a lot more confusion created and clarification necessary. Seems less efficient.

The benefits of her lot are that all of the drivers go into DC so she doesn't have as wide a range of destinations to weed through (can be a down-side, too, but in our case it's a benefit) and that the lot is right next to the Mixing Bowl and the entry point for the HOV lane on 395. Half of the traffic that I sit in on my morning commute is getting to 395, so she is lucky to get on the HOV lanes basically right away after she gets into a car. Somehow, even though my morning lot is the largest one, there's always more drivers in the afternoon going to her lot, too. I think just because the drivers from my lot go to such a wide range of destinations as opposed to a few specific locations.

I'd go to her lot in the morning, but the traffic going that way from my house is ridiculous and the lot I go to is so close to my house. Plus as I like to tease S about, their system is the oddball out of all the lots so far as I've heard. Too weird for me, I think. She gets some good stories though, more to come from S.