Westport CT Suggests Slugging

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   I recently had this article sent to me from the Westport News. Go to:

	http://www.westport-news.com/Stories/0,1413,100~4435~2104356,00.html

	Here is the text from the artcle:

	Reconsider Hitchhiking

	After reading Congressman Shays' letter in the Westport News [April 16], it does not seem to me as if our congressman is aware that the simplest and easiest way to ease traffic conditions is to reduce the number of cars on the road.

	There is no shortcut, but there is an easy solution, a solution gaining favor all over the country. It's in fact becoming a national trend... they used to call it hitch hiking. But now, to ease conservative business sensibilities, it's been coined "slugging."

	One of the most successful example of this growing trend, which I'm sure is putting the fear of God into all of Westport's retired ExxonMobil portfolio retirees, is happening in the Washington D.C. area.

	Their Web site has become a veritable powerhouse of ride sharing and pooling networks: http://www.slug-lines.com  

	In theory, it's safe to assume that for every "slugger" there is one less car on the road at rush hour. Slugging does away with the necessity for making complicated plans ahead of time. You just become part of the slugging community... You start using your thumb again.

	A group in California has taken it a step further. They call themselves Go Geronimo. Local police stations issue Go Geronimo picture ID cards to both drivers and riders, since they are interchangeable depending on whether or not they are taking their car out that day or not.

	In theory, if this keeps up, and if such clubs make hitch hiking fun and safe again for everyone, as they already have all over Europe, then we could easily see cutting traffic by a third in the time it would take to nationalize a hitch hiking/slugging program.

	I wonder if Congressman Shays considers reducing our dependence on foreign oil to be good anti-terrorism policy. Or if Congressman Shays owes his allegiance to the ExxonMobil Westport retirees.

	Remy Chevalier

	26th District State Senate Candidate, Green Party

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Admin Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 25 Jul 2001 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Admin Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Westport CT Suggests Slugging Posted: 26 Apr 2004 at 7:08pm
	I recently had this article sent to me from the Westport News. Go to: http://www.westport-news.com/Stories/0,1413,100~4435~2104356,00.html Here is the text from the artcle: Reconsider Hitchhiking After reading Congressman Shays' letter in the Westport News [April 16], it does not seem to me as if our congressman is aware that the simplest and easiest way to ease traffic conditions is to reduce the number of cars on the road. There is no shortcut, but there is an easy solution, a solution gaining favor all over the country. It's in fact becoming a national trend... they used to call it hitch hiking. But now, to ease conservative business sensibilities, it's been coined "slugging." One of the most successful example of this growing trend, which I'm sure is putting the fear of God into all of Westport's retired ExxonMobil portfolio retirees, is happening in the Washington D.C. area. Their Web site has become a veritable powerhouse of ride sharing and pooling networks: http://www.slug-lines.com In theory, it's safe to assume that for every "slugger" there is one less car on the road at rush hour. Slugging does away with the necessity for making complicated plans ahead of time. You just become part of the slugging community... You start using your thumb again. A group in California has taken it a step further. They call themselves Go Geronimo. Local police stations issue Go Geronimo picture ID cards to both drivers and riders, since they are interchangeable depending on whether or not they are taking their car out that day or not. In theory, if this keeps up, and if such clubs make hitch hiking fun and safe again for everyone, as they already have all over Europe, then we could easily see cutting traffic by a third in the time it would take to nationalize a hitch hiking/slugging program. I wonder if Congressman Shays considers reducing our dependence on foreign oil to be good anti-terrorism policy. Or if Congressman Shays owes his allegiance to the ExxonMobil Westport retirees. Remy Chevalier 26th District State Senate Candidate, Green Party

JimH Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote JimH Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 26 Apr 2004 at 8:18pm
	Admin, Cool!! You got mentioned in another state.

glacier Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 11 Dec 2002 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote glacier Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 27 Apr 2004 at 8:53am
	Nice work, hopefully it will increase the "slugging" level of awareness in our area. Cheers, Glacier

emancilla Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 30 Sep 2003 Location: Virginia Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote emancilla Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 27 Apr 2004 at 12:55pm
	Yeah. I hope so, too, Glacier.

vabigblue Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote vabigblue Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 27 Apr 2004 at 1:54pm
	quote: Originally posted by glacier [br]Nice work, hopefully it will increase the "slugging" level of awareness in our area. Cheers, Glacier I think the level of awareness in our area is big. Just think, we've had an article in the Washington Post, interviews from Channel 5 and countless other requests from freelancers. I'm just proud to be a slug!

glacier Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 11 Dec 2002 Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote glacier Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 27 Apr 2004 at 2:13pm
	Yes, but all that and 50 cents will get us a cup of coffee. There are numerous people I talk to in the greater DC area that have no clue on what slugging is. And many that have heard have no idea of the benefits to other commuters and the issues we fight for. I'm not knocking you, just would like to see increased "total" awareness. Cheers, Glacier

Max_28756 Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Location: Va Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote Max_28756 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 28 Apr 2004 at 12:31pm
	Until I started slugging in October '03 (yes I'm a rookie), I thought the idea was crazy at the least and dangerous at the worst. I now know better and do my best to put the word out even at the risk of increasing the wait in line. I shake my head at all the empty cars stuck in traffic in the morning as we drive by in the HOV. Thanks to this WEB site, it got me started!

vabigblue Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote vabigblue Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 2004 at 8:31am
	quote: Originally posted by Max_28756 [br]Until I started slugging in October '03 (yes I'm a rookie), I thought the idea was crazy at the least and dangerous at the worst. I now know better and do my best to put the word out even at the risk of increasing the wait in line. I shake my head at all the empty cars stuck in traffic in the morning as we drive by in the HOV. Thanks to this WEB site, it got me started! Rookie or not, slugging serves the same purpose for everyone who does it. I'm with you MAX, I shake my head as well as do a lot of our other collegues. I believe when I retire, I'll slug once a month to stay proficient.