Lyft will offer free rides this Independence Day to prevent people from driving drunk, the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) announced.
WRAP will be offering the rides through its SoberRide initiative starting 8 p.m. on July 4 until 4 a.m. the next day.
During those eight hours, area residents age 21 and older can download the Lyft app on their phones and enter the SoberRide code in the app’s “promo” section to receive a free ride — up to $15 — home. The promo code will be posted online on July 4 at 7 p.m.
It can be used for rides in D.C., Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland, and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties in Virginia.
“Nearly 40 percent of U.S. traffic fatalities during the Independence Day holiday involve drunk drivers according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,” Kurt Erickson, WRAP’s president, said in news release. “Worse and during the 2019 Independence Day holiday, over two-thirds (69%) of those killed in drunk driving crashes were in crashes involving at least one driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .15 or higher.”
During the 2019 Independence Day holiday, WRAP said more than 800 people in the Washington area used its SoberRide program.
