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Keep the Holidays Cheerful. Ride Smart.

Harris County participates in a ride-sharing discount program to help keep resident revelers and others safe on New Year’s Eve.

Presented by Texas Department of Transportation December 21, 2020

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has partnered with the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), Lyft, Silver Eagle Distributers Houston LLC, and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to offer 3,000 $10 Lyft discount codes this New Year’s Eve.

Harris County consistently yields the highest number of alcohol-related crash fatalities of any U.S. county, based on data from 2014 to the present. In 2019, Harris County had 156 impaired driving fatalities. Seeing this trend, TxDOT has invested in new partnerships and innovative approaches to bring the number of these needless fatalities down.

This is the first year Texas has been awarded a grant funded by Lyft and administered by GHSA to provide a combination of cash grants and ride credits that can be used toward discounts on Lyft fares. The goal of the program is to encourage individuals who consume alcohol and other impairing substances to use ride-sharing services rather than put themselves and others at risk on the road.

The program is even more critical this year, as recently released National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data for the first half of 2020 found that while traffic volume was down significantly, motor vehicle fatalities did not fall at similar rates. Drivers who were on the road during this period were also more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as speeding, drunk driving, and not buckling up.

For Harris County residents to receive the $10 discount code, they can sign up at https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/district/houston/sober-ride.html to be emailed the discount code the week of New Year’s.

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