What’s the great idea? Safe rides for visitors to Maryland’s breweries, distilleries, and wineries

Who’s doing it? Maryland Wineries Association, Brewers Association of Maryland, and Maryland Distillers Guild

What’s involved? When Lyft approached the Maryland Wineries Association, the Breweries Association of Maryland, and the Maryland Distillers Guild earlier this year about giving their customers discounts on safe rides home, everyone loved the idea. Lyft would give the state’s breweries, distilleries, and wineries coupons for free or discounted rides, and each participating venue would designate a pick-up and drop-off location to make it as easy as possible for patrons to find their Lyft driver.

“As an industry, we want to inspire and grow the appreciation of wine, beer, and spirits that are made right here in Maryland, and we do that through connecting directly with residents and visitors,” Kevin Atticks, a spokesman for the associations, said in a news release. “This partnership with Lyft is exciting because it helps us in our mission to promote responsible consumption and celebrate a thriving industry.”

To make sure members understood how the program worked, the associations invited Lyft to their membership meetings and scheduled conference calls to discuss questions.

The program kicked off in October with 53 of Maryland’s craft alcohol establishments participating. Lyft sweetened the deal by giving the first 3,000 customers free rides when they tapped a promo code into their Lyft apps. Since then, more businesses have opted in, bringing the total to 62 participating establishments.

What are people saying? “Customers have been using Lyft to visit our wineries, breweries, and distilleries, and our members are pleased with the program thus far,” Atticks said. “It’s been a true benefit to our industry to have a partner like Lyft ready to meet the unique needs of the industry.”

[This article was originally published in the Associations Now print edition, titled “Playing It Safe."]