Safe rides
Lyft ride-share will ferry 4th of July party people in Texas for free
If tying one on is part of your July 4 holiday plans, you can get a free ride from Lyft.
The ride-share company is offering up to $50,000 in free rides across Texas in an effort to help reduce drunk driving.
The initiative is part of Lyft's "Sober Rides TX," a program the company launched in April for Cinco de Mayo.
Driving on the 4th of July is risky, and Lyft offers data from 2016 as proof. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 40 percent of all U.S. traffic deaths involved drunk drivers on July 4 that year. Two-thirds of those killed in drunk driving crashes had BACs of .15 or higher.
The ride would not be totally free if you're, like, driving to Waco. The "free" is actually a credit of up to $10.
But it extends before and after July 4: It's valid from July 3 at 12 pm through July 5 at 3 am, with the code RIDESAFEJULY4.
Lyft offers its Sober Rides TX program on several holidays throughout the year, including Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick's Day, Labor Day, and New Year’s Eve.
"The safety of the communities where Lyft operates is something we take very seriously," says Lyft Dallas-Fort Worth spokesperson Yohan Bobcombe in a release. "Ridesharing is an important solution to impaired driving, a major problem over the 4th of July. We launched Sober Rides TX to help keep Texas roads safe by raising awareness and encouraging responsible choices on notoriously dangerous drinking holidays, like the 4th of July, and we look forward to continuing to work with communities to grow this impactful program."
Mitch Landry, Deputy Executive Director of Government Affairs for Texas Municipal Police Association says in a release that Texas led the nation in traffic fatalities, with alcohol-impaired drivers contributing to 44 percent of these deaths.
"We're grateful for Lyft's leadership in helping the more than 27,000 local, county and state law enforcement officers we represent across Texas keep our citizens safe," Landry says.