A nonprofit serving the D.C. area is providing free rides to people who might end up drinking too much on St. Patrick’s Day.
The Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) is partnering with Lyft to cover up to $15 per trip through its “SoberRide” program.
WRAP will post a discount code at 3 p.m. Wednesday, which will be good from 4 p.m. until 2 a.m. Thursday.
Passengers will have to pay any costs that exceed $15, and the code is available to the first 1,500 riders.
Referring to the program as a “necessary safety net,” the group cites federal data showing almost half of all fatal crashes around St. Patrick’s Day nationwide are connected to drunken driving.
WRAP is encouraging people to stay home for the holiday and “respect public health restrictions” during the pandemic, but it said if anyone does go out, “We are all benefited from the safety net role which the program plays.”
“While we’re all safer at home, we are also a public safety organization which regularly looks to mitigate risk,” said Kurt Erickson, WRAP’s president, on the nonprofit’s website.
WRAP said that since 1991, it has provided over 80,000 free rides during historically dangerous drunken-driving holiday periods.
Along with St. Patrick’s Day, SoberRide initiatives also take place during the December-January holiday season, Cinco de Mayo, Fourth of July and Halloween.
