The regional SoberRide program will be offering free cab rides throughout the holidays.
From Friday, Dec. 14 to Tuesday, Jan. 1, SoberRide will be providing no-cost cab rides to those who call 1-800-200-TAXI from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Last December, more than 2,000 D.C. area residents used SoberRide in December, according to the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP).
In addition to the SoberRide program, WRAP and Red Top Cab recently unveiled a half-taxi, half-police cruiser that has been parked in Clarendon in an effort to deter drunk driving.
From a WRAP press release:
Combating that time of year classified by U.S. Government officials as one of the deadliest times on America’s roadways due to an increase in drunk driving, a local nonprofit organization announced today that free cab rides will be offered to would-be drunk drivers throughout Arlington County, Virginia during the winter holidays.
Offered by the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP), the annual Holiday SoberRide program will operate between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am each evening between Friday, December 14, 2012 and Tuesday, January 1, 2013 as a way to keep local roads safe from impaired drivers during this traditionally high-risk, holiday period.
During the evening hours, between December 14th and January 1st, Washington-metropolitan area residents celebrating with alcohol may call the toll-free SoberRide phone number 1–800–200–TAXI and be afforded a no-cost (up to $ 30 fare), safe way home. (AT&T wireless users can dial #WRAP for the same service.)
“Last December, over 2,000 (2,032) Greater Washington residents did the right thing and availed themselves of this lifesaving service rather than possibly driving home impaired,” said Kurt Gregory Erickson, WRAP’s President. “For SoberRide’s hours of operation during just last New Year’s Eve, such ridership (396) translated into the removal of a would-be drunk driver from our shared roadways every 72-seconds.”
SoberRide is offered in the: District of Columbia; throughout the Maryland counties of Montgomery and Prince George’s; and throughout the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, (eastern) Loudoun and Prince William. In these areas, local taxicab companies will be providing this no-cost service to local residents age 21 and older who otherwise may have attempted to drive home after drinking.
Since 1993, WRAP’s SoberRide program has provided 55,851 free cab rides home to would-be drunk drivers in the Greater Washington area.
Sponsors of the 2012 Holiday SoberRide campaign include: Anheuser-Busch, AT&T, Diageo, GEICO, Giant, MillersCoors, Red Top Cab, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, Volkswagen Group of America and the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association.
Participating taxicab companies include: Alexandria Yellow Cab; Barwood; Fairfax Yellow Cab; Loudoun Yellow Cab; Manassas Cab Company; Red Top Cab; Silver Cab of Prince George’s County; Yellow Cab of D.C.; and Yellow Cab of Prince William County.