Safe-ride program geared to city restaurant patrons
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/08/2019 (1688 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A new partnership will soon give people a fresh option for a safe ride home after a night out on the town.
The Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association and ride-hailing company ReRyde have teamed up to create a safe-ride program they’re calling a first for the food services industry.
The concept is simple: beginning Sept. 1, participating restaurants can provide their customers with vouchers to use toward calling a ReRyde driver to take them home after dinner.
It’s a program that has the potential to curb drinking and driving by giving people who want to have a few drinks the option of not worrying about if they’ll be sober enough to drive home after, said Shaun Jeffrey, Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association executive director.
“This is a safe way to get there and a safe way to get home, and you’re able to enjoy your evening,” Jeffrey said.
“You don’t have to worry about those challenges: who’s the designated driver? Is my consumption level within the legal guidelines? Am I having to walk to my car in downtown Winnipeg at 10 o’clock at night?”
The program could also help Winnipeg’s restaurant industry keep up with changing times, as younger generations increasingly skip a night out for dinner, which can come with parking woes, in favour of ordering in through food delivery apps, Jeffrey said.
“You’re not having to worry about finding parking, you’re not having to worry about being late,” he said.
“Your ride-share will drive you to the front door and pick you up and drop you off at home… You’re taking care of all these problems by just using this service.”
The program will launch with eight participating restaurants: 529 Wellington Steakhouse, Carne Italian Chophouse, Prairie’s Edge, Mon Ami Louis, The Gates on Roblin, Ichiban Japanese Steakhouse and Pub, Peasant Cookery and Smitty’s on Pembina Highway.
Jeffrey said there are already plans to expand the program to other restaurants in Winnipeg, and eventually to other places in Manitoba, including Thompson, Morden, Winkler and Portage la Prairie.
ReRyde has provided $10,000 worth of vouchers for the program, said Jamil Chaudhry, the ride-hailing service’s director of operations.
Each voucher comes with a coupon code that customers can punch into their ReRyde app, and it will be left to the discretion of restaurant staff how many vouchers are given to each person — which means the program could result in anything from a slight discount to a free ride home, he said.
Once a customer requests a car through the safe-ride program, one of ReRyde’s more than 450 drivers will arrive to drive them home.
Participating restaurants and ReRyde drivers will also have signage indicating they’re part of the program, Chaudhry said.
caitlyn.gowriluk@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @caitlyngowriluk