Budweiser offers 150,000 free Lyft round trips

Steve Dent From engadget

While Uber brings the Budweiser, Lyft takes you home after drinking it.

If you’re on the lookout for a designated driver this holiday season, a brewery can save the day. Starting today, Budweiser is offering up to 150,000 free round-trip Lyft rides (worth up to $10 each way) with its “Give a Damn” program until the end of the year. Every Thursday at 2 PM ET, Budweiser will share a code on its Facebook and Instagram channel that you can use Thursday, Friday and Saturday night (in the US only). The program, which Budweiser piloted in New York, Colorado, Illinois and Florida last year, will also be available in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Texas, Georgia and Washington, D.C. this year.

When you claim the code, the funds will be transferred to your Lyft account, but only for the three-day period. This year’s program offers round-trips instead of the one-way trips offered during the pilot, which makes a lot more sense. Obviously, Budweiser is offering the rides to gain some feel-good PR and let customers freely consume its product without fear of repercussions. There’s no reason you can’t, say, drink whiskey and still use the codes, though.

Budweiser plays no favorites in the ride-sharing game. Working with Uber’s Otto trucking division, it transported 8,000 cases of Bud over a 120-mile distance, the first such delivery for an autonomous semi-truck. Somehow it makes sense that Uber is delivering the beer, and Lyft is bringing the drunk customers home safely.

IMAGE: Getty Images for Lyft

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