A town in New Jersey demonstrates that carpooling apps do more than just save money, as they can save lives as well.
The local authorities in Evensham teamed up with ride service app Uber to help residents who drank too much get home safely. The initiative comes as a response to the surging number of drunken-driving cases registered by the administration of the small town in southern New Jersey.
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," Randy Brown, Evensham Mayor, declared.
On Friday, another free ride option was revealed to Evensham Township dwellers: the BeMyDD mobile app. Its purpose is to find you a nearby driver who steps behind your wheels to take you and your car back home, in mint condition.
Brown pointed out that a red flag for his community was when, in 2015, Evensham's number of DUI arrests capped at a maximum of 250.
The cooperation between the Town Hall and the mobile apps continues a pilot program that began in Sept. 2015, when the town buses started offering free rides to individuals who were in an inappropriate driving state. More than 350 persons benefited from the pilot program, leading to a lowered number of DUI related arrests. The drop was significant, reaching 65 percent. In September, only eight cases of DUI arrests took place, while in August there were 23.
The partnered locations will summon free rides from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week. The program is ongoing until Jan. 2, 2016.
Ana Mahony, general manager for Uber New Jersey, pointed out that Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization played a key role in the partnership with Mayor Brown.
"It was the perfect opportunity to use our technology to help take drunk drivers off the road," Mahony underlined.
Meanwhile, VP of marketing for BeMyDD app, Alexa Milkovich, affirmed that her firm is busy recruiting drivers for its own progams.
