SoberRide Provides More than 900 Rides for New Years

Over 900 people in the Washington-metropolitan area used the free safe ride service, SoberRide, this New Year’s — from 10 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2022 through 4 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2023 — as opposed to possibly driving home drunk.

“For its hours of operation this New Year’s alone, this level of ridership translates into SoberRide removing a potential drunk driver from Greater Washington’s roadways every 23-seconds,” said Kurt Erickson, President of the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program, the organization conducting the region’s SoberRide effort.

WRAP’s most recent holiday SoberRide offering concluded on Jan. 1, 2023 after kicking-off and running nightly since Dec. 16, 2022 providing free safe rides to local residents ages 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 16 consecutive evening period, area residents celebrating with alcohol could download Lyft to their phones, then enter WRAP-provided codes to receive their no-cost (up to $15) safe transportation home. SoberRide was available to both new and existing Lyft users.

 Lyft provided SoberRide trips throughout the Washington-metropolitan area to local residents ages 21 and older who otherwise may have attempted to drive home after drinking.

WRAP also offers free safe ride services on St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Independence Day and Halloween.

Sponsors of WRAP’s 2023 Holiday SoberRide campaign included the 395 Express Lanes, Amazon, Anheuser-Busch, Beer Institute, Brown-Forman, Constellation Brands, District of Columbia Association of Beverage Alcohol Wholesalers, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Foundation of Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, Giant Food, Glory Days Grill, Kendall-Jackson, Lyft, Molson Coors Beverage Company, New Belgium Brewing, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, and the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association. WRAP’s 2022 Public Partner SoberRide® Sponsors included the District of Columbia Department of Transportation, Maryland Highway Safety Office/Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration and Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Since 1991, WRAP’s SoberRide program has provided 84,676 free safe rides home to would-be drunk drivers in the Greater Washington area.

For more information, visit WRAP’s web site at www.wrap.org