The community-organized carpooling tradition known as slugging will soon expand to one of Fairfax County’s busiest commuting corridors.
Slugging, a form of carpooling that connects drivers and passengers on a common route, will have a September kickoff in the I-66 corridor. The initiative is being led by the I-66 Slugging Network, a coalition of residential groups and public agencies who want to create a slugging community along the interstate.
Slug lines encourage Northern Virginia commuters to carpool so they can use the region’s network of express lanes without paying tolls.
Extended outside the Capital Beltway (I-495) from Dunn Loring to Route 29 in Gainesville in 2022, the I-66 Express Lanes are available toll-free to vehicles with at least three occupants (HOV-3). To bypass the toll, a vehicle must have an E-ZPass Flex with the HOV mode turned on.
Without that carpooling option, commuters are faced with a choice of dynamically priced tolls that change by demand or general purpose lanes that see higher traffic congestion during peak travel periods.
“I-66 connects residential communities throughout Northern Virginia with major employment centers in Rosslyn and Washington, D.C.,” a spokesperson for the I-66 Slugging Network told FFXnow. “As return-to-office trends continue, organizers saw an opportunity to give more commuters a timesaving, free, and sustainable alternative to driving alone.”
Slugging pickup and drop-off locations were selected based on commuter demand, access to the I-66 Express Lanes, the ability to provide direct trips and presence of backup transit options.
Morning slug line locations will be offered at the Monument Drive garage in Fair Oaks and University Boulevard park and ride in Gainesville, with four drop-off locations at the Rosslyn, L’Enfant Plaza, Navy Yard, and Metro Center transit stations. Reverse slug lines will be organized in the afternoon for commuters returning from work.
Slug lines have been well established for years along the I-95 and I-395 corridors around Springfield.
The I-66 Slugging Network spokesperson said organizers engaged with those behind the I-95 slug lines to understand how slugging works and how to bring it to new areas. However, the I-66 and Springfield slug lines organizers aren’t directly affiliated since they are informally organized.
To encourage commuters along the I-66 corridor to participate in slug lines, organizers will hold an I-66 Slugging Challenge starting Sept. 14.
Funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation, the challenge will offer commuters incentives for participation and a chance to win up to $1,000 in prizes for logging their slugging trips.
The I-66 Slugging Network has not set specific goals for participation, but the long-term goal is to make slugging along the corridor a reliable, ongoing commuting option.
