Lyft, Budweiser Offering Free Rides To Drunk People

(RTTNews) - Revelers in four states will now be able to reach home safely even after getting drunk. Ride-sharing service Lyft Inc. and beer company Budweiser have joined hands by offering subsidized rides to drunk people in a bid to combat drunk driving.

From September 16, through the end of 2016, the two companies are offering free late-night rides on weekends and holidays in the four cities of New York, Illinois, Florida and Colorado. Passengers aged 21 and above can get a free ride of up to $10.

The move is part of Budweiser's #GiveADamn anti-drunk driving campaign to reduce drunk driving and make the streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and passengers.

Budweiser said it will provide up to 80,000 rides total on weekend and holiday nights during peak party hours in New York, Colorado, Illinois and Florida.

Budweiser and Lyft will distribute 5,000 $10 coupons every weekend for rides taken between 10 pm and 2 am on weekend nights in the four cities.

Each Thursday at 2 p.m. ET, Budweiser will share a unique code on its Facebook and Twitter channels, which consumers aged 21 and above can enter into the Lyft app to claim a $10 free ride credit.

This ride credit can be redeemed the following Friday and Saturday, between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, and is designed to be accessed when people are returning home after a night out.

The first 5,000 Lyft users to claim these codes each week will have the chance to use them that weekend. Each code is good for a $10 credit or free ride up to $10.

Oliver Hsiang, VP Partnerships at Lyft said, "By giving passengers access to free rides each week, we hope everyone will think twice before getting behind the wheel after drinking and look to Lyft as a solution."

There are approximately 10,000 fatalities in drunk driving crashes in the U.S. each year, accounting for 29 percent of all traffic fatalities, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation or DOT.