Slugging: A Fast Lane Toward Reduced Emissions

The recent focus on global warming has brought about some exceptional advances in a variety of green technologies. Wind turbines have grown substantially in size, efficiency and energy generating capacity. Hybrid electric technology, once a complicated interaction of two vastly dissimilar systems, are now a graceful complimentary fusion, powering more than a million vehicles. Exciting frontiers in hydrokinetic and biofuel energy continue to add to the variety of cleaner energy sources available.

But now, thanks to historically high gas prices, a simple and decades old practice is regaining traction: the humble car pool. Originally rolled out as a means of conserving vital fuel resources during the Second World War, carpooling saw a resurgence in the 1970s, as the first waves of oil crisis reach American shores. But in today’s increasingly interconnected world, the practice had advanced from small effort among neighbors and coworkers to a sophisticated, efficient system, matching drivers and passengers who’ve never met on an entirely ad hoc basis every workday.

It’s called Slugging, and on the over-stressed freeways surrounding the DC area, it’s been a way of life for some time. The framework behind it is fiendishly simple—commuters without cars line-up at pre-designated points and wait for single-occupancy drivers to arrive. As a car arrives, the first rider in line calls out the driver’s destination and available seating, the next commuters in line headed to that destination climb into the car, and off they all go. The payoff for the driver is fast, efficient commute along HOV lanes in exchange for offering the free ride.

While highway speeds and full vehicle capacity do increase fuel consumption somewhat, it’s nowhere near as bad as the heavy and smoggy emissions produced by stop-and-go driving. Add that to a reduced drive time, and fewer vehicles on the roadway, and you’ve got a brilliantly-tailored carbon-reduction solution. No wonder the trend has spread to cities around the country in recent years, reaching all the way out now to San Francisco.

The advent of the Internet has further increased the ease of the practice. Visitors and new arrivals can simply Google a list of slugging stops near their location, and online postings also convey the unofficial rules (no talking unless the driver initiates, no messing with the controls or radio, etc.). Sites have even appeared listing some common slugging problems, and offering feedback on individual drivers and sluggers.

There’s no question that a tremendous amount of the drive behind the modern push for a more sustainable lifestyle comes from new and exciting technologies. But as the success and continued proliferation of simple, everyday practices such as slugging shows, tremendous gains can still be achieved with the tools our society currently has at hand.