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from the i'm-as-jober-as-a-sudge-ocifer dept.
Tech Times reports that in response to the surging number of drunken-driving cases in Evensham, a small town in southern New Jersey, local authorities have teamed with Uber to help residents who drank too much get home safely. The agreement means that more than 19 restaurants and bars will match you with an Uber car, in case you had one beer too many. The local administration of the 45,000 people community is confident that this will curb the numbers of inebriated drivers. The Uber ride program is free and is funded from private donations. "We're dealing with people who might've had too much to drink, so we needed to make it so easy for them to open their iPhone and push a button," says Mayor Randy Brown. The New Jersey town, on track for a record-breaking 250 DUI arrests in 2015, has become the first U.S. municipality to partner with Uber to keep inebriated residents from getting behind the wheel. "We began working with Mayor Brown through our national partner, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and realized it was the perfect opportunity to use our technology to help take drunk drivers off the road," says Ana Mahony, general manager for Uber New Jersey.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Grishnakh on Tuesday October 27 2015, @02:02AM
Well it says right in TFS that it's funded by private donations. I would think that "private donations" explicitly excludes the city (governments are not "private"), and implicitly excludes Uber and their drivers (at least officially). So it might be from the establishments, from donations from concerned citizens, or Uber drivers voluntarily chipping in, or a combination of all three.
I'd be worried about the mess problem too. One of the nice things about taking an Uber is how nice the vehicles usually are, unlike nasty old taxis, but this also means they have something called "carpet" on the floors unlike those nasty taxis that are usually old police cars. I'd suggest that Uber drivers get some "Weathertech" floor mats for their back seats when they're on drunk detail like this. They're supposed to be easy to clean, and fitted to contain spills (yuk...) extremely well.
(Score: 3, Funny) by hemocyanin on Tuesday October 27 2015, @02:26AM
How about a pickup with a camper shell. Just hose it out Sunday morning.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 27 2015, @02:26AM
San Diego does this on New Years eve, free towing for drunks. They'll tow your car home along with you. If I act drunk can I get a free ride?