Nearly 1,000 people in the Washington-metropolitan area used the free ride service, SoberRide, this New Year’s (10 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2019 through 4 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2020) as opposed to possibly driving home drunk.
Cumulatively since 1991, WRAP’s SoberRide program has provided 80,047 free safe rides home to would-be drunk drivers in the Greater Washington area.
WRAP’s most recent holiday SoberRide offering concluded this past Wednesday morning, Jan. 1, after kicking-off and running nightly since Dec. 20, 2019 providing a total of 1,121 free safe rides to local residents age 21 and older who otherwise may have attempted to drive home after drinking. The local anti-drunk driving service is offered as a way to keep local roads safe from potentially impaired drivers during this traditionally high-risk holiday. During the most recent 12 consecutive evening period, area residents celebrating with alcohol could download Lyft to their phones, then enter WRAP-provided codes in the app's “Promo” section to receive their no cost (up to $15) safe transportation home while supplies lasted.
Since partnering with Lyft, WRAP reports a nearly tripling of its annual SoberRide ridership (the charity also offers its free safe ride service on St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, July 4th and Halloween) with 4,549 total riders in 2019 versus 1,655 in 2016 (the last year when the SoberRide program was serviced by participating local taxicab companies).
The most recent New Year’s ridership of 921 users is the fourth highest for that holiday since SoberRide’s inception.
Sponsors of WRAP’s 2019 Holiday SoberRide campaign included the 395 Express Lanes, AAA Mid-Atlantic, Anheuser-Busch, Brown-Forman, Constellation Brands, District of Columbia Association of Beverage Alcohol Wholesalers, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Giant Food, Glory Days Grill, Heineken, Kendall-Jackson, Lyft, MillerCoors, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington and the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association.
More information about WRAP’s SoberRide® initiative can be found at www.SoberRide.com.