In preparation for Sunday’s Super Bowl XLIX festivities, several ride-share companies increased efforts to provide safe transportation by providing promotions and alternatives to driving home while under the influence.
BeMyDD, a ride-share company specifically designed to offer designated driver services in 76 cities throughout the United States, including Boston, prepared for the high volume of rides in advance.
“We want to support people having fun in a socially responsible way by using a designated driver if they are consuming or serving alcohol at a Super Bowl party,” said Arthur Simanovsky, BeMyDD president and CEO in a Jan. 22 press release from BeMyDD. “With the availability of a service like BeMyDD, all it takes is a little planning ahead to ensure a fun and safe time.”
BeMyDD offered a nationwide promotion Sunday in which first-time users received $20 off their first ride and all customers who used the service on Sunday were entered in a contest to win a free BeMyDD designated driver for a month.
In preparation for the Super Bowl, BeMyDD also recruited more drivers, said Chief Marketing Officer Michael Donner.
“In Boston, we have been ramping up as our demand ramps up, so the majority of our reservations are made in advance,” Donner said. “Our stuff is usually done in advance, so everybody can be accommodated until our drivers sell out.”
Donner said exact numbers regarding Sunday evening’s BeMyDD programs could not be revealed, but said the Super Bowl is one of the busier times of the year for the company.
Uber, another ride-share company, also made preparations for the Super Bowl, pairing with Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. Each time the promotional code “ThinkandRide” was entered on Sunday between 3 p.m. and 12 a.m. on an Uber ride, $1 was donated to MADD, according to a Friday press release from MADD.
This is not the only partnership between Uber and MADD to combat drunk driving. The two entities collaborated on an extensive drunk driving report released Jan. 27 entitled “More Options. Shifting Mindsets. Driving Better Choices.”
The report found that nearly 78 percent of respondents said friends are less likely to drive home after drinking since ride-sharing services like Uber started operating in their city.
The promotions of ride-sharing services made to combat intoxicated driving followed a Friday press release in which Boston Mayor Martin Walsh urged the citizens of Boston to behave in a safe and acceptable manner.
“We are taking steps to ensure a safe and fun Super Bowl,” Walsh said in the release. “We need everyone else to do their part and celebrate in a respectful and responsible manner.”
The release also explicitly urged against drunk driving.
“In addition, the City encourages fans traveling to Boston to watch the game to use public transportation when possible and never to drink and drive,” the release stated. “Boston Police will have officers on duty, focused specifically on DUI enforcement.”
Several residents said that while ride-sharing services are useful, they aren’t always the best option.
Holly Roberts, 19, of Allston, said that in a city accessible by walking, driving drunk shouldn’t even be an option.
“Here, you can walk most places in the city,” she said. “I think Uber is a rip-off, but I don’t really think that there’s a reason to drive in Boston, so there’s no reason to drive drunk in the city.”
Joseph Field, 20, of Allston, said that Uber’s service was sub-par and expensive after the Super Bowl.
“I didn’t use Uber … but my friends did, and they said that it sucked because it was so slow and expensive,” he said. “It took twice as long at least, but usually it’s good.”
Taylor Juretic, a sophomore in Boston University’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said regardless of being able to walk or drive, taking a ride-share service is safer in certain circumstances.
“I always use Uber or the T because I sometimes get nervous walking home,” she said. “I use it when I get home too because I have a car, but driving drunk isn’t an option.”
