Maryland residents can get a free Lyft credit this holiday season

Maryland offers residents sober rides on New Year's Eve

This New Year's Eve, partygoers have plenty of options when it comes to getting home safe. A number of organizations are offering sober rides that won't cost you a dime. FOX 5's Josh Rosenthal has all the details.

Maryland residents are eligible for a Lyft credit this holiday season thanks to a grant from a national organization aimed at curbing drunk driving.

The Governors Highway Safety Association provided 4,000 Lyft ride credits, each worth $20, to be available during the holidays. Maryland is one of four states awarded the grant.

"Once again, we’re making the choice easy to be the driver who makes a plan and arranges a sober ride home," said Governor Larry Hogan. "No one should lose a loved one this holiday season, or ever, due to someone’s selfish choice to drive impaired. I encourage all drivers to make a plan for a sober ride home and save a life."

Each Marylander is eligible to receive a $20 rideshare credit while supplies last. A select number of rideshare credits will be available between 4 p.m. and 2 a.m. from Thursday through Sunday.

To redeem the $20 credit, Marylanders should open the Lyft app, choose "Payment" from the menu on the top left corner, and scroll to the "Add Lyft Pass" section. After inputting the code here, $20 will be applied to the user’s account.

Each rider is limited to one $5 credit.

Last year, 173 people died and more than 2,800 were injured on Maryland roadways due to impaired driving. Additionally, in 2021 in Maryland, more than 15,430 people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs — 1,616 of those arrests occurring between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

"With the holiday season being one of the most dangerous times on our roadways due to impaired driving, initiatives that promote ride-hailing, a proven countermeasure for deterring this reckless behavior, are critical," said GHSA Executive Director Jonathan Adkins. "GHSA is proud to partner with Lyft and Responsibility.org to help Maryland encourage people to make the safer choice this year by leaving the driving to someone who is sober."

An MDOT spokesperson told FOX 5 that as of Thursday afternoon, "All codes allocated for this weekend have been claimed as people prepare in advance to ensure a safe ride home this New Year’s weekend."

MDOT said it will monitor redemptions throughout the weekend to determine if additional codes become available.