Let me put this in the simplest words I can: DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE. Not on New Year's Eve, not ever. Putting yourself and everyone else on the road at risk is not how we are going into 2020. And in this digital age, there is really no excuse for it. We have Uber, Lyft, cabs, public transportation, heck call a trustworthy coworker if you need to.

If you're planning on going out to celebrate the New Year and have a few drinks, you can save yourself some money by scheduling your Uber or Lyft ahead of time. Both services have something called "surge pricing":

Surge pricing automatically goes into effect when there are more riders in a given area than available drivers. This encourages more drivers to serve the busy area over time and shifts rider demand, to maintain reliability and restore balance.

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For a local example, bar close in Downtown St. Cloud. Lots of people are looking for rides, and there might be fewer drivers on the road. Without this surge pricing when demand for rides exceeds the number of available drivers, riders would wait longer, or might not be able to get a ride at all. It is expected to happen tonight right after the ball drop in busy areas.

To help make sure you have a ride home on New Year's Eve, you can schedule your ride in the rideshare app of your choice right now.

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