HOUSTON — Every year, you hear the warnings: don’t drink and drive on New Year’s Eve. And every year we hear the stories of multiple fatalities on our roads involving alcohol.
To make sure you get home safe tonight, plan ahead. Remember, there is no excuse for drinking driving.
Here are three ways you can get a safe ride home in Houston:
METRO will offer free rides starting at 6 p.m.
Have fun and ride safely on New Year's Eve – courtesy of METRO. Free rides will begin at 6 p.m. New Year's Eve (Dec. 31) until 6 a.m. New Year's Day (Jan. 1) on local bus, METRORail and METROLift.
METRO's service for New Year's Eve, Dec. 31., 2019 will follow regular, published schedules.
On New Year's Day, Jan. 1, METRO service will operate as follows:
• Normal fares resume at 6 a.m.
• Local bus routes and METRORail will operate a Sunday schedule.
• No Park & Ride service.
• All HOV/HOT lanes will be closed.
• METRO's Customer Service Center will be closed.
• METRO's RideStore and Lost & Found will be closed.
METROlift customers must call the reservation line at 713-225-6716 on Tuesday, Dec. 31, between the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to schedule trips for Wednesday, Jan. 1, and Thursday, Jan. 2. All subscription trips will be cancelled for New Year’s Day. Customers may also schedule a trip from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. the day before travel by using MACS at 713-739-4690 or MACS-WEB or MACS-WEB screen reader version.
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If you don’t want to leave your car, use tipsy tow
Tipsy tow program runs from 6 p.m. Dec. 31 until 6 a.m. on Jan. 1. Call 800-222-4357. They'll tow your car, up to 10 miles home for free-- and also give you a ride.
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Ride share, taxis are easy to use
Lyft is offering a discount over the New Year’s Eve celebration period. Use the code NYEHOU2020 to get $10 off (good for current and first-time riders), and of course Uber offers promo codes for first- time riders.