Free Rides Offered to Partyers Tonight

Cinco de Mayo celebrants can call for a free ride home tonight, thanks to the expansion of a shuttle program credited with averting traffic fatalities on St. Patrick’s Day.

Offered by the Los Angeles Police Department, the Paddy Wagon program provides van service from 8 tonight to 2 a.m. Saturday for Los Angeles fiesta-goers unable to get home safely.

The phone number is (800) 70-PADDY. Calls will be answered by bilingual operators.

Rides will be offered citywide, from Downtown Los Angeles to Woodland Hills, for up to about a 15-mile radius. Off-duty, reserve police officers will drive eight passenger vans to transport people.

There is no threat of arrest to those using the service, officials said.

“Our goal is not to arrest people, but to ensure they get home safely while at the same time protecting others on the road,” said Officer Tom Souza of the LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division.

This is the first time the citywide Paddy Wagon service has operated on Cinco de Mayo. A high number of celebrants are expected this year because the holiday falls on a Friday night.

“We know (Cinco de Mayo) is a night a lot of people celebrate,” said Officer Ed Melendez. “We’d eventually like to expand the program to all of the major holidays.”

There have been no alcohol-related driving fatalities citywide on St. Patrick’s Day since the Paddy Wagon program began in 1991, officials said. This year, more than 175 people called for rides on that holiday.

The passenger vans were provided by Budget Car and Truck Rental of Southern California.

“If we even help prevent just a few accidents, we know that the program is successful,” said Jeff Mirkin, president of Budget.