Expanded transit, new car services ease way home after new year begins

New Year’s Eve is all fun and games – until it’s time to get home.

Peddle power or hoofing it remain great options for those not straying far from home. But for those whom human-powered transportation isn’t a viable option, getting home, especially after midnight, gets trickier.

“What we say is to plan ahead,” said Chris Cochran, spokesman for the California Office of Traffic Safety. “Know ahead of time how you are going to get from place to place.”

Cochran said people are getting wise to the dangers of drunken driving, with the number of fatalities about half the number 35 years ago. But that still meant 883 people were killed in accidents where the driver had a blood-alcohol level of at least .08 in 2013.

This year, taking Regional Transit home may be a more viable option. The Sacramento mass transit provider has extended light-rail service for the Gold and Blue lines, with the last trains departing the downtown area at 12:45 a.m. For route, schedule and fare information, call 916-321-BUSS (2877) or go to sacrt.com.

Taxis are still the old standby, but these days there are more options. Driver services such as Uber and Lyft can be more convenient and cheaper. But that’s not always the case, especially when a surge of customers seek to get home at the same time.

Uber spokeswoman Eva Behrend said its impossible to project how many customers will have to pay during peak demand, which they expect to be between 12:30 a.m. and 2 a.m..

“It really does depend on how many (drivers) are on the road,” Behrend said. The app does notify potential customers when surge pricing is in effect. The app also lets users get a notification when the price drops. Lyft offers similar features.

“Sometimes its only five minutes, sometimes it’s a longer period of time,” Behrend said.

Designating a sober driver, having a friend or loved one collect you or staying at the party are all good options, said CHP Officer Tom Riggin.

If you are sober and drive home, Riggin said you can help keep the roads safe by calling 911 to report drunken drivers.

This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 8:35 PM with the headline "Expanded transit, new car services ease way home after new year begins."