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Travel safely on St. Patty’s Day
Get totalled this St. Patrick’s while a sober driver takes the wheel
The Kellys are gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day. There will be whiskey. To ensure safe travel, I found a couple of options for ride services, both planned and last-minute.
“We offer a personal driver service,” said Brian at Be My DD (877-U-BEMYDD; bemydd.com). “The driver will come to your home, or wherever you and your car are located, and drive you around in your car for however many hours you need — though there is a three-hour minimum. Then he will bring you back home, get in his car, and leave. The cost is $14 to $19.50 an hour; in San Diego, it averages $18.50. We also offer a pick-up service. Two drivers are dispatched to wherever you are. They pick you up and drive you home. The other driver follows in his car. They drop you off at your home and leave. The cost for that in San Diego is $25, plus $3.45 per mile. All our drivers are screened: they have background checks and must have at least ten years’ driving experience. BeMyDD provides $2 million insurance complementary on all rides as the primary insurance. You need to book these services ahead of time; you can do it either by phone, online, or by using our mobile app."
Moe Satter, founder of saferides.org (888-656-7233), takes a different approach. “We are a charity that educates people about planning when going out with groups of friends. We reward their efforts by getting them luxury vehicles like limousines at hugely discounted rates, sometimes up to 50 percent. This makes it possible for them to use saferides.org every time they go out, even if they could not normally afford it. And by offering round trips, we eliminate their car from the equation.
“We work with local limo companies that are 100 percent licensed and insured. There’s a base rate for the car; you figure distance and time, and a price quote comes up. We charge a 20 percent tip ahead of time as a donation to us — it’s tax-deductible for the customer — and the balance is paid to the driver at the time of the ride. They take cash or credit cards.”
Satter said that booking ahead of time is a good idea. “The sooner you book, the better vehicle you get, because we can negotiate one for you. We can accommodate groups up to 55, and we’re cheaper than Uber Black or Uber SUV. It’s true that for sedans, we’re not as cheap as a taxi. But while we may not be the cheapest in every situation, overall, we hope to move you in the right direction. Even if you think our rate is too much in a given situation, your next move is to look for a cheaper service, instead of just drinking and driving.”
For more last-minute help, I looked into Uber (uber.com). “Uber is an innovative way to move around the city using your smartphone and get a ride in under 10 minutes, and it’s cheaper than a traditional taxi service,” explained spokesman Michael Amodeo. “It’s a smartphone app that uses your phone’s GPS to detect your location and connect you with the nearest available driver. Our drivers are members of the community, using their own personal vehicles.”
You start by entering your pick-up and drop-off location, and that gets you a price quote. “The transaction is cashless because your fare is automatically charged to your card, which Uber has on file. Further, tipping is not necessary, because 80 percent of the fee goes back to the driver.”
You don’t always know exactly what you’ll get, but Amodeo gives some assurances. “All vehicles are 2005 or newer and have four doors. They’ve all had a safety inspection. All drivers are screened and given background checks. Further, your ride is covered by commercial liability insurance from the moment you are picked up to the moment you are dropped off. Also, you get a picture of your driver on your phone screen and car details. Afterwards, you can rate the driver and leave feedback.” To get your first Uber ride free (up to $30), sign up at get.uber.com/go/GREEN15 and enter the promo code GREEN15 (good all year).
Lyft (lyft.com) is another app that “seamlessly connects drivers who have empty seats in their cars with nearby passengers,” said public policy communications manager Chelsea Wilson. Lyft employs the same working system and safety features as Uber, but with the added feature of being able to tip the driver.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Travel safely on St. Patty’s Day
Get totalled this St. Patrick’s while a sober driver takes the wheel
Travel safely on St. Patty’s Day
Get totalled this St. Patrick’s while a sober driver takes the wheel
The Kellys are gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day. There will be whiskey. To ensure safe travel, I found a couple of options for ride services, both planned and last-minute.
“We offer a personal driver service,” said Brian at Be My DD (877-U-BEMYDD; bemydd.com). “The driver will come to your home, or wherever you and your car are located, and drive you around in your car for however many hours you need — though there is a three-hour minimum. Then he will bring you back home, get in his car, and leave. The cost is $14 to $19.50 an hour; in San Diego, it averages $18.50. We also offer a pick-up service. Two drivers are dispatched to wherever you are. They pick you up and drive you home. The other driver follows in his car. They drop you off at your home and leave. The cost for that in San Diego is $25, plus $3.45 per mile. All our drivers are screened: they have background checks and must have at least ten years’ driving experience. BeMyDD provides $2 million insurance complementary on all rides as the primary insurance. You need to book these services ahead of time; you can do it either by phone, online, or by using our mobile app."
Moe Satter, founder of saferides.org (888-656-7233), takes a different approach. “We are a charity that educates people about planning when going out with groups of friends. We reward their efforts by getting them luxury vehicles like limousines at hugely discounted rates, sometimes up to 50 percent. This makes it possible for them to use saferides.org every time they go out, even if they could not normally afford it. And by offering round trips, we eliminate their car from the equation.
“We work with local limo companies that are 100 percent licensed and insured. There’s a base rate for the car; you figure distance and time, and a price quote comes up. We charge a 20 percent tip ahead of time as a donation to us — it’s tax-deductible for the customer — and the balance is paid to the driver at the time of the ride. They take cash or credit cards.”
Satter said that booking ahead of time is a good idea. “The sooner you book, the better vehicle you get, because we can negotiate one for you. We can accommodate groups up to 55, and we’re cheaper than Uber Black or Uber SUV. It’s true that for sedans, we’re not as cheap as a taxi. But while we may not be the cheapest in every situation, overall, we hope to move you in the right direction. Even if you think our rate is too much in a given situation, your next move is to look for a cheaper service, instead of just drinking and driving.”
For more last-minute help, I looked into Uber (uber.com). “Uber is an innovative way to move around the city using your smartphone and get a ride in under 10 minutes, and it’s cheaper than a traditional taxi service,” explained spokesman Michael Amodeo. “It’s a smartphone app that uses your phone’s GPS to detect your location and connect you with the nearest available driver. Our drivers are members of the community, using their own personal vehicles.”
You start by entering your pick-up and drop-off location, and that gets you a price quote. “The transaction is cashless because your fare is automatically charged to your card, which Uber has on file. Further, tipping is not necessary, because 80 percent of the fee goes back to the driver.”
You don’t always know exactly what you’ll get, but Amodeo gives some assurances. “All vehicles are 2005 or newer and have four doors. They’ve all had a safety inspection. All drivers are screened and given background checks. Further, your ride is covered by commercial liability insurance from the moment you are picked up to the moment you are dropped off. Also, you get a picture of your driver on your phone screen and car details. Afterwards, you can rate the driver and leave feedback.” To get your first Uber ride free (up to $30), sign up at get.uber.com/go/GREEN15 and enter the promo code GREEN15 (good all year).
Lyft (lyft.com) is another app that “seamlessly connects drivers who have empty seats in their cars with nearby passengers,” said public policy communications manager Chelsea Wilson. Lyft employs the same working system and safety features as Uber, but with the added feature of being able to tip the driver.
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