Free Taxi Rides to Stop Holiday Drunk Driving in DC Region Set for Dec. 16 - Jan. 1

Don't drink and drive! Free cab rides will be available to would-be drunk drivers throughout the Washington-metropolitan area during the winter holidays between Friday Dec. 16, 2016 and Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017, according to an announcement by the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP).

During the evening hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., between Dec. 16 and New Year's Day, 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.)

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, Loudoun (Eastern from Leesburg to the Loudoun County line) 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.

“Last December, nearly 1,500 (1,456) 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, alone, such ridership (580) translated into the removal of a would-be drunk driver from our shared roadways every 49-seconds.”

Since 1993, WRAP’s SoberRide program has provided 65,385 free cab rides home to would-be drunk drivers in the Greater Washington area.

Participating taxicab companies include: Alexandria Yellow Cab; Barwood; Fairfax Yellow Cab; Loudoun Yellow Cab; Northern Virginia Checker Cab; Red Top Cab; Silver Cab of Prince George’s County; Yellow Cab of D.C.; and Yellow Cab of Prince William County.

Founded in 1982, the nonprofit Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) is a coalition of diverse interests using effective education, innovative programs and targeted advocacy to end alcohol-impaired driving and underage drinking in the Washington, DC metro area. Through public education, innovative health education programs and advocacy, WRAP is credited with keeping the metro-Washington area’s alcohol-related traffic deaths historically lower than the national average.

More information about WRAP’s SoberRide initiative can be found at www.soberride.com.

Image credit: Washington Regional Alcohol Program