Slugging - General Practices

General Practices

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.

Many unofficial rules of etiquette exist, and Websites allow sluggers to post warnings about those who break them. Some Washington D.C. rules are:

• 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 talking unless the driver initiates conversation.
• No eating, smoking, or putting on makeup.
• The driver has full control of the radio and climate controls.
• No open windows 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.

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 the government. Government officials have become more aware of sluggers' needs when planning changes that affect their behavior, and solicit their suggestions.