Pre and Post Federal Holiday Slug Lines

For the past few long weekends and this holiday season, we keep getting the same question over and over again! Will slugs be there at the pickup location? Will drivers stop to pick up slugs? What is the backup for riders who get stranded?

Aggregation and volume are key for successful sluglines. Commuters doubt slugging during pre and post federal holiday due to the low number of drivers and riders spread across all pickup locations. To achieve the optimal number of commuters for slugging we could reduce the number of pickup locations. Knowing almost all riders drive to the park and ride lots, and riders have access to public transportation in the afternoon, reducing the number of pickup lots during low traffic days will add a bit more commute time, but would help slugging operate as other days.

If slugging works on pre and post holidays, we would need backup.

Morning Pick Up Sluglines:

1. Bobs
2. Horner
3. Rt. 610 Staffordboro

Afternoon Sluglines:

1. 14th and Independence
2. The Pentagon

Share your thoughts!

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Adventures in Slugging!

It was a yet another day at the Staffordboro slug lot; Marcia was waiting in line for her turn. She was glad to hear a driver call for the Pentagon riders. She hopped in, followed by another rider who got in with her. They navigated the traffic to get on the HOT lanes.

Five minutes into the ride, the truck's transmission slipped causing a jerking action while accelerating. Driver alerted the riders that his vehicle may have transmission issue and didn't want to take the risk driving any further on the HOT lanes. Not only he feared the breakdown on the HOV lanes, he feared breaking down in a location where there is no shoulders. The rider in the passenger seat called his wife in case they needed to exit the freeway before Woodbridge. The Driver then exited the HOT lanes and pulled into the Horner road commuter lot to drop off the riders at the Pentagon slug pickup station.

Marcia being new to the area was not familiar with Horner Road; but was grateful for the help and guidance of the driver and the rider who guided her to the Pentagon slug pickup station. Marcia lost about 15 minutes because this unexpected mishap, but was quickly got back on her way to her destination. Excited Marcia couldn't wait to share her experience on Facebook.

Unexpected breakdowns happen, it is wonderful how drivers and slugs come together in harmony and help each other to get to their respective destination safely. Happy slugging!

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More challenges to NoVA Commuters and the Pentagon Slugs

If your normal commute in NoVA isn't stressful enough, Metro is throwing another challenge to Silver, Orange, and Blue line riders. Commuters who slug to the Pentagon and transfer to the Metro have to take the bus instead. 

Starting August 11, 2018, WMATA will be performing maintenance work along the Silver, Orange, and Blue lines for the next 2 weeks. Silver and Orange lines will be single-tracking between McPherson Square and Smithsonian stations, with trains running every 20 minutes, with 50-60% REDUCED service. The bigger impact on slugs is the Blue line shutdown between Rosslyn and Arlington Cemetery from August 11 to August 26.

WMATA is encouraging Metro riders to use other modes of transportation during this shutdown to avoid long delays and overcrowding on platforms. Below are some options that may work for those traveling on the affected Metro lines.

I-95 Commuters:

• Rosslyn commuters slugging to the Pentagon can take Ominride from the Pentagon to Rosslyn/Ballston http://www.prtctransit.org/commuter-bus/schedules/dalecity-pentagon-am.html
• Crystal City commuters slugging to the Pentagon can take ART 43 https://www.arlingtontransit.com/pages/routes/art-43/

I-66 Commuters:

• Pentagon commuters slugging to Rosslyn can take ART 43 https://www.arlingtontransit.com/pages/routes/art-43/

For more information on Metro rail disruptions and alternatives check https://www.wmata.com/service/status/details/2018-Capital-Project-McPherson-Smithsonian-Advisory.cfm

If you planning to drive to avoid all these changes, pickup slugs and cruise on Express lanes for free.

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New sluglines along I-66 corridor to assist drivers to avoid the outrageous I-66 tolls

Happy New Year! 

It is evident that people living outside beltway are outraged by the new I-66 tolls. More than 14,000 clean fuel vehicle drivers lost their HOV exemption who were allowed to use I-66 during HOV hours. With tolling in effect, many residents in the region are now considering slugging, the nation’s most efficient transportation system, organized and manged by the commuters, for the commuters.

Organizing sluglines is not an easy task, it is a major change in the way people commute. It requires commitment and flexibility from the commuters. To identify pickup and drop off locations, commuters are coordinating via I66sluglines, a facebook group. We have about 500 commuters interested in slugging and expected to grow organically by number of locations and commuters as it did along I-95 corridor. Commuters are encouraged to join the group to share their preferred locations and time.  

After a month of coordination and communication with I-66 commuters there are five morning pickup locations along  I-66 and five afternoon pickup locations inside beltway and DC. We still have to run it through the local government.  Most of the afternoon sluglines are co-located with the existing sluglines in DC. Depending on the demand locations may be added or modified by the commuters.

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Tire Thefts at Horner Road Commuter Lot is Not an Isolated Incident!

Wheels Stripped off at Horner Road Commuter Lot - March 31, 2016

Wheels Stripped off at Horner Road Commuter Lot - May 19, 2016

Finding a parking space at the Horner Road Commuter Lot and commuting to work is stressful enough. To come back from work to finding cars оn blосkѕ, ѕtrірреd оf all four wheels and vandalized is whole another thing. It didn't happen to all 3000 commuters who park at the lot, but had happened for about 40 commuters in the last one year.

1. 18th May, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/frankjprincipi/posts/815825411882072 - Approx. 7 vehicles vandalized
2. 31st March, 2016, https://www.facebook.com/sluglinesdotcom/posts/1164142536929666 - Approx. 12 vehicles vandalized
3. 10th March, 2016, http://wtop.com/prince-william-county/2016/03/thieves-strike-horner-road-commuter-lot/ - Approx. 4 vehicles vandalized
4. 21st February, 2016, http://potomaclocal.com/2016/02/21/sedan-left-on-blocks-at-horner-road-commuter-lot-in-woodbridge/ - Approx. 4 vehicles vandalized
5. 14th January, 2016, http://wtop.com/prince-william-county/2016/01/tire-thieves-targeting-horner-road-lot-in-woodbridge/slide/1/ - Approx. 4 vehicles vandalized
6. 19th October, 2015, Wheel thefts reported at park-and-ride lot in Prince William County - Approx. 3 vehicles vandalized
7. 9th September, 2015, http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Commuters-Find-Cars-Stripped-of-Tires-at-Va-Park-and-Ride-Lot-326853841.html - Approx. 4 vehicles vandalized
8. 28th May, 2015, http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Tire-Thieves-Hit-Va-Commuter-Lot-Again-334388281.html - Approx. 3 vehicles vandalized

Surveillance cameras are definitely a good deterrence, but the last incident on the 31st March, 2016 was executed while there were cameras at both choke points. That leaves us with questions, if those cameras are good enough to recognize the license plates? Do we have tools to analyze the video footage? Should the cameras cover the entire parking lot?

Crime breeds crime, 40 victims in one year is good for some thought and action. 

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New SlugLines Mobile application to connect commuters

Every Northern Virginia resident knows the pain and anguish they experience in a gridlock while commuting between home and office.  The Sluglines assist drivers by reaching the two or three persons High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) requirement, and passengers in getting a free ride to their destination.

Sluglines Mobile App

Drivers had to drive to the slug line to check if riders are waiting. Sometimes they have to wait to get riders while there are riders waiting half a mile away. Now with the Sluglines mobile application, riders can check in to show their availability drivers can find real-time status of the line and navigate to other pickup locations where there are more riders. It works the same way for the riders

No more long waits, connect with commuters in real time with the Sluglines app, navigate your way through for a quicker commute. The Sluglines mobile application is available on Google Play Store and Apple iTunes for free. Download the Sluglines App and start Checking In

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New HOV-3 ramp to Mark Center on I-395 to set to open today

The new HOV-3 ramp set to open today Jan 12, 2015 is guaranteed to save time for the Mark Center commuters. HOV traffic exiting to the Pentagon also may get some relief as this new ramp may take some of the traffic that exits at the Pentagon and circle back to the Mark Center.

I-395 HOV ramp to Mark Center

I-395 is the first reversible High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes build in 1969, it was initially built for buses and then evolved into HOV-4 and then to HOV-3. I-395 is one of the best investments that the federal government made, it moves 14% more people in 2 HOV lanes compared to the 4 general purpose lanes.

In 2005 the BRAC realignment approved by the congress mandated the move of many DoD offices from leased office space to secure sites that could meet DoD's security standards. As a part of BRAC initiative, the Mark Center was built in 2012 by the federal government to house about 7000 staff with about 2800 parking spaces.

To elevate the peak hour traffic caused by the new Mark Center, DoD invested $20 Million to construct short-term improvements along Seminary Road and enhanced public bus transportation. VDoT invested additional $76 Million to build 0.8 miles of reversible HOV-3 ramp from I-395 HOV lanes to seminary road, an auxiliary lane on I-395 north, bike trail and other developments along Seminary road. Construction of the HOV ramp began in March 2014 and is set to open on January 12, 2015. These lanes are expected to carry over 500 high occupancy vehicles during peak hours alone. This includes the Mark Center traffic as well as other regional traffic.

Today there are about 300 commuters slugging into the Mark Center from Woodbridge, Stafford and Fredericksburg, mostly coordinated by email groups restricted for Mark Center staff. There is also a designated staging area for slugging along the north parking garage entrance on Mark Center Dr.  Eventually, slugging is expected to grow as drivers possibly drop of slugs at the Mark Center and take off to nearby destinations like they do at the Pentagon. Unlike the Pentagon where Metro rail and buses are available, the Mark Center is served by limited public bus service that can take slugs to nearby work locations.

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