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Safe, Cost Effective Transportation Options Available For NYE Celebrators

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – It's New Year's Eve and many people are planning to head out on the town to celebrate. But first, make sure to plan a safe ride home!

For those celebrating in the metro area, there are plenty of options to make sure you get a sober, safe ride home.

Of course there are always taxis, but this year UBER has teamed up with Facebook to allow users to request a ride via Facebook Messenger.

The first UBER ride of the night is free, but expect regular prices to surge after midnight.

Also the service "Drink and Drive Intelligently" is available.

Two drivers come to you, so they can both escort you home and also drive your car home.

Finally, Metro Transit is offering free rides on all busses, light rail and North Star trains starting at 6 p.n. Thursday as part of their "Miller Lite Free Rides" program.

"Any time we can partner with some of our local agencies [and] some of our law enforcement agencies to get drunk drivers off of the road, we certainly want to do that. It's just really about having a safe community," Howie Padilla, from Metro Transit, said.

The Free Rides program started in 1997 and has given more than 5 million people nationwide with a safe ride home.

Last year alone there were 45,000 rides on New Year's Eve. Free rides end at 3 a.m.

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