Budweiser Partners With Lyft In An Effort To Stop Drunk Driving
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Budweiser and Lyft are coming together starting Friday to make a bold statement against drunk driving.
As part of their new responsible drinking message, 'Give A Damn. Don't Drive Drunk.' Budweiser will provide up to 80,000 total rides on weekend and holiday nights during peak party hours in New York, Colorado, Illinois and Florida.
"Drunk driving is 100 percent preventable, and Budweiser and Lyft are dedicated to helping people get home safely," said Katja Zastrow, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, Better World at Anheuser-Busch. "As one of the biggest beer brands in the world, Budweiser can play a leading role in the fight against drunk driving, and our program with Lyft will make a positive impact and start conversations about this vital issue."
Starting Friday, Sept. 16 through the end of the year, Budweiser will share a unique code every Thursday at 2 p.m. ET, on its Facebook and Twitter accounts; which, consumers 21 and over can then enter into the Lyft app to claim a $10 free ride credit.
The first 5,000 Lyft users to claim these codes each week will have the chance to use them that weekend. The ride credit can be redeemed that Friday and Saturday, between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time, in efforts for people to safely return home after a night out.
"At Lyft, we strive to partner with like-minded, mission-driven brands like Budweiser that are committed to building safer communities and a better world," says Oliver Hsiang, VP Partnerships at Lyft. "By giving passengers access to 5,000 rides each week, we hope everyone will think twice before getting behind the wheel after drinking and look to Lyft as a solution."
The codes are available for both new and existing Lyft users. Each code is good for a $10 credit or a free ride up to $10.
This campaign marks the largest partnership of its kind between a beverage and ride-sharing company aimed at reducing drunk driving, said Budweiser in a statement.
While drunk-driving fatalities decreased 51 percent since 1982 according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), there is still work to be done. There are approximately 10,000 fatalities in drunk driving crashes each year, accounting for 29 percent of all traffic fatalities according to the DOT.