Anheuser Busch Companies (BUD)

[FUNMAN]

Budweiser offers free Lyft rides in states where it operates -- including New York

Updated on September 20, 2017 at 6:08 AMPosted on September 20, 2017 at 6:00 AM

By Don Cazentre
[e-mail],

NYup.com

In a new anti-drunk driving effort, the maker of Budweiser is offering to pay for 10,000 free rides each weekend through the ride-sharing service Lyft.

The offer is good only in ten states -- including New York. It starts Thursday, Sept. 21, and expires at the end of the year.

The program, called "Give a Damn," works like this: At 2 p.m. each Thursday, starting Sept. 21, Budweiser will share a unique code on itsFacebook and Instagram channels. Up to 10,000 people 21 and older can claim a $20 credit (for two $10 one-way rides). The credit can be redeemed on the Lyft app for rides taken between 5 p.m. and 5 a.m. local time that Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night.

The offer is available in any city that Lyft serves in New York, Colorado, Illinois, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Texas, Georgia and Washington, D.C. Five of those states -- New York, Colorado, Missouri, Texas and Georgia -- are home to breweries operated by Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch InBev. Its New York brewery is just outside Baldwinsville.

Assuming the program has 10,000 takers for the remaining 15 weeks of the year, it will give 150,000 round-trip rides this year. Last year, a similar offer provided 35,000 rides.