Does anyone commute through slug lines and if so where in America?

Question

Slug lines are transportational arrangements where to meet the requirements of an HOV-2 highway, single drivers wishing to use the highway pick up a bystander who's looking to get to the city but doesn't have a car. i think the 2 might split gas, i'm not sure, but it's a psuedo-hitchhiking arrangement of sorts. It exists in Springfield, Virginia and Loundon County, Virginia with regards to commuters to D.C.

Answer 1

I used to do that in Houston.  Riders would wait at the bus depots and single drivers would pull in to pick up whoever was waiting.  There was no money exchanged, the benfit to the driver is they get to avoid sitting in traffic, wasting gobs of gasoline idling in gridlock.

I picked up and rode many times, never offered or was offered money.  I just appreciated being able to get into the downtown district quickly.  Most times, passengers would get out at a bus stop to get to their final destination, but I usually dropped them off as a Thank you.

Same thing heading out of town at night.  Drivers would pull up to the bus stops where riders would jump in.  The drivers usually had a sign to let riders know where they were headed.

Answer 2

I have picked up sluggers one time from Washington DC back to the Springfield area. There are sets of guidelines floating around the internet which are widely accepted. Slugs do not pay for gas. Here are a few of the guidelines I quickly found on-line:

- No talking unless the driver initiates.

- No open windows unless all passengers approve.

- No money will ever be exchanged or requested.

- The driver has full control of the radio; passengers may not request a station or volume change.

- Drivers are not to pick up sluggers en route to or standing outside the line, a practice referred to as "body-snatching".

I have a few friends/family members who pick up slugs regularly and these guidelines are widely followed in the DC Metro area.