Slugging Hours w/ HOT Lanes

Since the HOT system will be 24/7 I think it will make Slugs a commodity and prove to be greater incentive for people to use slugs at all hours of the day. Additionally, the clean fuel exemptions are going away and those individuals will also have to pick up slugs. Finally, the extension should make slugging more viable for folks all the way down to Fredericksburg.

KeithO

The real question will be how long it takes people to adjust. In other words, the established "slugging hours" have been around for a long time, so it's understandable why people will be reluctant to try to slug outside those times for fear of not getting a ride. If riders don't show up at the slug lines, drivers won't go to the trouble to try to pick them up. But it makes a lot of sense for the hours to expand within reason. For example, there are a lot of people commuting at 7:00 PM or so. If slugs can be confident drivers will swing past the slug lines, there'd be a good incentive for them to head to the lines at 7:00 instead of opting for the Metro or the bus or whatever. But if drivers don't show up, then riders won't either.

All of that is subject to reasonableness, of course. Realistically, you're not going to find many people looking for slug rides at 8:30 PM, for example. Sure, there are always people who have to work late for whatever reason, but the law of averages simply suggests it's never going to make sense for many riders to head out to the lines at later hours like that, especially in bad weather or cold weather.

It's not going to be an easy adjustment. Perhaps it's something the Post's Dr. Gridlock might be interested in writing about to try to call attention to the issue. I doubt many slug riders and drivers have considered the point.

I'm all for a forum for drivers to communicate with potential slugs and vice versa. Once the HOT lanes take effect slugging won't be limited to the 3:30-6 PM hours. Same with in the morning.