Your Mom (+ These Apps) Don’t Want You to Drive Drunk Tonight
And us too. This New Year’s Eve, one of our favorite go-tos for getting us from A to B, Lyft, is teaming up with Your Mom, specifically, Mothers Against Drunk Driving to keep you off the road tonight after you’ve popped that champagne. And we think (nay, know) you should listen to your mother right about now.
1. Lyft: This year, Lyft is encouraging you to join them in pledging to keep the roads safe on NYE (whether you ride Lyft, use public transit or designate a sober driver). For every person who “pledges,” Lyft will donate $1 to MADD to support their mission to end drunk driving. They’re even spreading the word in an adorable way; Lyft’s co-founder John Zimmer is skipping Seacrest- and Swift-viewing to ride your drunk butt around from A to B. And he’s bringing his mom with him. Aw.
Currently in dozens of cities across the country, Lyft has become a go-to for this editor thanks to Lyft Line, a pooling car share that lets you hitch a ride with someone else and split the cost. (Free on Android and iOS)
2. Flywheel: This app works just like Lyft and Uber do, but will hail a yellow cab for you. (#accidentalrhyme!!) You can track your driver en route to you and payment still goes through the app, but your whip will be old school. Great news for SFites — Flywheel is offering a #SurgeFreeNYE with $10 flat rides anywhere in San Francisco starting at 8pm tonight and going to 3am tomorrow. Right now this growing mobile cab hailer is available in San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles, with more cities to come. (Free on Android and iOS)
3. Curb: Available in more cities than the biggies, Curb will connect you to professional drivers that want to make sure you get home safe and sound. (Free on Android and iOS)
4. Sidecar: Snag a ride AND a deal with this app that lets you comparison shop before you pick which driver you want to hail. Currently this one is available in San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, DC and Boston. (Free on Android and iOS)
5. Uber: Watch out for the infamous surge pricing on New Year’s Eve and don’t be a jerk and throw up in this nice person’s car. If it’s available in your area, choose the UberPool option for 20% off your ride and a chance to ring in the new year with a new friend. (Free on Android, iOS and Windows Phone)
6. Surge Protector: This could come in handy on busy New Year’s Eve night (see above) when Uber’s pricing might go through the roof, rogue champagne cork style. This app will find the location closest to you sans surge pricing so you can call an UberX to pick you up in a cheaper nearby locale. (Free on iOS)
Bonus pro tip! Are you or a friend new to one of these services? If someone in your party is a user of any of the above, she can likely share her code with you to sign up with. Use it and you’ll get money toward your first ride and she will get credits for her next one. If you time it right, you and your crew could be riding free all NYE and NYD long. You’re welcome.
If you don’t live in a city that offers one of the above, you can still hitch a safe ride on New Year’s or your next night out. You can, of course, bust out the trusty yellow pages (or at least download their app) to find a cab company that will pick you up. You can also explore the services where you reside. BeMyDD offers designated drivers in 76 cities across the country, or check this list of national sober ride solutions that can pick you (and sometimes your car) up if you’re stuck in a sticky situation.
Drive safe and have a happy new year! Share your favorite app with us below!