Lyft to Provide $15 Vouchers to Discourage Drunk Driving

Officials and local businesses are partnering with ridesharing company Lyft to offer free $15 vouchers to keep impaired drivers off the roads this coming holiday week.

The Delaware Office of Highway Safety (OHS), police and members of the business community kicked off the event at the Starboard in Dewey Beach on Thursday. The program begins on Saturday, June 30, at 4 p.m. and will continue through Friday, July 6.

Those wishing to participate should text “Soberlift” to 99000 to redeem the discount. It will be available in Delaware resort towns of Lewes, Rehoboth, Dewey, South Bethany and Fenwick. The number of daily discount codes, available only between 4 p.m. and 2 a.m., are limited.

Steve “Monty” Montgomery, owner of The Starboard, speaking at Thursday morning’s press conference. Image courtesy WGMD/Alan Henney.

“Fun is what we do,” says Steve “Monty” Montgomery, owner of The Starboard, “But safety is what we preach.” Nothing in his 30 years in the bar business has changed the business as much as ridesharing, Montgomery pointed out. He commended ridesharing not only for the safety but also for helping manage parking problems. He recommends people not only plan to take a rideshare home, but consider taking one going in as well.

Sponsors of this SoberLift campaign include Allstate, the Delaware Department of Insurance, Wilmington Blue Rocks, Dewey Business Partnership, Bluecoast Seafood Grill & Raw Bar, The Starboard Restaurant and Bar, Grain Bar and Aloysius Butler & Clark (AB&C).

“I heard about the program from the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) out of Washington, D.C.,” says Jana Simpler, OHS director. “They have been running a program with Lyft for the past couple years and we decided let’s take a look and see if it is something we could replicate. We decided that this would work very well at the Delaware beaches during the holiday season,” she add.

The $15 credit will hopefully get many people safely home or at least provide the incentive to get them home safely. “It makes people make the right decision going home at night,” says Dewey Beach Comm. Paul Bauer. “There is really no excuse to get a DUI.”