Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Designated Drivers program hurting for funds

More info

For more information call 456-RIDE (7433) or see designateddriversfoundation.org.

Designated Drivers is still trying to raise money to cover the cost of its 10th annual holiday program this year, which provides revelers a ride home in their own car for free starting Friday and going through Jan. 1.

The group was prepared to scale back the program from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, but fliers had already been printed with the earlier date, Designated Drivers founder Billie Smith said. However, it has funding only for the second week of the program due to a lack of corporate sponsors.

"We're hurting for funds," Designated Drivers founder Billie Smith said, noting the program needs another $20,000. "All we have is the money from the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety."

That office is giving the program $30,000 — the same as last year. But even with that money and last year's corporate sponsors, the program still fell $18,000 short of its financial goal, Smith said.

Last year's program transported 2,400 people in the 14-day period, and Smith expected that number to grow this year.

"Our program has increased by about 20 percent to 30 percent annually," he said.

Designated Drivers is a 24-hour service that dispatches a team of two to the customer's location. One drives the customer home in his or her own vehicle, while the other follows in a company car, so the duo can travel directly to their next call. During the rest of the year, typical rates from The Strip to Henderson run $60.

"It's a pretty hefty expense during these tough economic times," Smith said. "When we can provide life-saving service like ours for free, 100 percent of the people will use the service versus 25 percent on a day-to-day basis."

The free service provided by grants and sponsors, he said, may have played a role in the number of holiday season DUI fatalities last year: zero. Users like the program, he said.

"They're extremely grateful — being able to get their car home along with them safely," he said.

Designated Drivers typically transports about 800 vehicles a month, Smith said, but business is off about 35 percent. Nevertheless, a Phoenix service was opened last month, and a nonprofit foundation has been established to help with the ride program.

Local attorney Lucien Cravens helped spearhead the foundation, Smith said.

"He saw the need for the free ride programs and how effective they were and wanted to see what he could do to help maintain our funding," Smith said.

Dave Clark can be reached at 990-2677 or [email protected].

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy