I was reminded today how a good amount of DC-Metro area workers have never even heard of slugging. It's always interesting to see people's reactions to the idea, and today I got the response, "That's ballsy!" I told the man that it was actually quite reliable and that I've only heard of one major incident which involved a driver speeding and making a rider uncomfortable enough to ask to be let out. It did give me a certain sense of pride though, seeing this man who looked like he could clearly hold his own saying he wouldn't even get in a stranger's car himself. Maybe I'm just crazier than him.
On some days if the line is long or it's extra hot out, I admit, I get pretty frustrated at the slug line. But typically and overall, it's very efficient, cost-effective, safe and entertaining. I'm definitely happy that I don't have to deal with the Metro at all, and the average door-to-door time is actually shorter than it would be if I were metroing, and on good days much, much shorter.
Another rider that I was in the car with last week was discussing the system with the driver, who he knew as a friend. What he said is something that I think most slugs would relate to:
"I could not believe this system existed when I started doing it so I never want to do anything to jeopardize the system."
This pertains back to my comments in the post about not breaking the rules and why most slugs wouldn't break the rules, such as driving through the parking lot catching people before they get to the line in order to bypass the line of cars. I would say most slugs want to preserve the system so that it continues being as effective as it is now, as this one slug pointed out. It may be "ballsy" and not everyone may feel comfortable with it which is fine, but once you've been slugging for a while you realize it's a whole community in itself with implicit rules that govern the system and keep it running smoothly.
On some days if the line is long or it's extra hot out, I admit, I get pretty frustrated at the slug line. But typically and overall, it's very efficient, cost-effective, safe and entertaining. I'm definitely happy that I don't have to deal with the Metro at all, and the average door-to-door time is actually shorter than it would be if I were metroing, and on good days much, much shorter.
Another rider that I was in the car with last week was discussing the system with the driver, who he knew as a friend. What he said is something that I think most slugs would relate to:
"I could not believe this system existed when I started doing it so I never want to do anything to jeopardize the system."
This pertains back to my comments in the post about not breaking the rules and why most slugs wouldn't break the rules, such as driving through the parking lot catching people before they get to the line in order to bypass the line of cars. I would say most slugs want to preserve the system so that it continues being as effective as it is now, as this one slug pointed out. It may be "ballsy" and not everyone may feel comfortable with it which is fine, but once you've been slugging for a while you realize it's a whole community in itself with implicit rules that govern the system and keep it running smoothly.
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