Nearly 600 Use Local SoberRide® Program on St. Patrick’s Day
DC AREA’S DUI PREVENTION EFFORT REMOVES POTENTIAL DRUNK DRIVER FROM AREA ROADWAYS NEARLY EVERY 73-SECONDS
Tysons VA, March 23 – Nearly 600 (591) persons in the Washington-metropolitan area used the free safe ride service, SoberRide®, on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th) as opposed to possibly driving home drunk.
“For its hours of operation on St. Patrick’s Day, this level of ridership translates into SoberRide removing a potential drunk driver from Greater Washington’s roadways nearly every 73-seconds,” said WRAP President Kurt Erickson.
WRAP’s 2026 St. Patrick’s Day SoberRide campaign began at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17th (St. Patrick’s Day) and operated until 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 18th as a way to keep local roads safe from impaired drivers during this traditionally high-risk period. During the twelve-hour period, area residents celebrating with alcohol could download the Lyft app to their phones then enter the code “SAFESTPATSDC26” in its ‘Promo’ section to receive their no-cost (up to $ 15) safe ride home. SoberRide® was available to both new and existing Lyft users.
Lyft provided SoberRide® trips throughout the Washington-metropolitan area to local residents ages 21 and older who otherwise may have attempted to drive home after drinking.
WRAP also offers its SoberRide® program on the Super Bowl, Cinco de Mayo, Independence Day, Halloween and the winter holidays through and including New Year’s Eve.
“Lyft is dedicated to providing access to reliable and responsible rides, and we’re proud to partner with programs like WRAP to offer Lyft as an alternative to impaired driving,” said Kamillah Wood, Director of Public Policy for Community Safety at Lyft. “Through our Roadway Safety Program and our partnership with the public, we hope to empower our community with the tools to protect themselves and those around them this holiday season.”
SoberRide® is offered throughout Lyft’s Washington D.C. coverage area which includes all or parts of: the District of Columbia; the Maryland counties of Montgomery and Prince George’s and towns therein plus the cities of Bowie, College Park, District Heights, Gaithersburg, Glenarden, Greenbelt, Hyattsville, Laurel, Mount Ranier, New Carrollton, Rockville, Seat Pleasant and Takoma Park; and the Northern Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William and towns therein plus the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas and Manassas Park.
Sponsors of WRAP’s 2026 St. Patrick’s Day SoberRide® campaign included 395 Express Lanes, Anheuser-Busch, Beer Institute, Brown-Forman, Chesapeake Region Safety Council, Constellation Brands, Diageo, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, Giant Food, Lyft, Molson Coors Beverage Company, New Belgium Brewing, Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington and the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association. WRAP’s 2026 Public Partner SoberRide® Sponsors include the District of Columbia Highway Safety Office, Maryland Highway Safety Office/Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration and Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.
In addition, four of the Washington-metropolitan area’s better-known Irish restaurants also united to ensure a safe St. Patrick’s Day celebration this year by sponsoring SoberRide®. These dining establishments included: The Dubliner Restaurant & Pub (DC); Ireland’s Four Courts (VA); Martin’s Tavern Est. 1933 (DC); and O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub (VA).
Since 1991, WRAP’s SoberRide® program has provided 103,106 free safe rides home to would-be drunk drivers in the Greater Washington area.
Founded in 1982, the nonprofit [501(c)(3)] Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) is an award-winning public-private partnership working to prevent drunk driving and underage drinking in the Washington-metropolitan area. Through public education, innovative health education programs and advocacy, WRAP is credited with helping to keep the annual percentage of metro-Washington traffic deaths involving alcohol-impaired driving historically lower than the national average. WRAP, however, may best be known to area residents via the organization’s popular free safe ride service to prevent drunk driving, SoberRide®.
More information about WRAP’s SoberRide® initiative can be found at www.soberride.com.