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Uber kiosk offers Breathalyzer and discounted ride home

For only new users not near the kiosk, the promo code MYRIDEHOME will also result in a $15 discount through Sunday.

SEATTLE — Uber has launched its first Breathalyzer kiosk in Seattle, at Kell’s Irish Pub in Post Alley on St. Patrick’s Day. People who use the kiosk will get a promotional code for $15 off a ride home between 8 p.m. and midnight, no matter the results of the Breathalyzer test.

This applies to both new and existing users.

For only new users not near the kiosk, the promo code MYRIDEHOME will also result in a $15 discount through Sunday.

The Seattle Department of Transportation and Seattle Police Department support the initiative as a piece of the Vision Zero project to end traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030.

SDOT Director Scott Kubly said Seattle sees 10,000 accidents a year, a third of them involving drunken drivers.

"In the time it takes now to get on your phone, tap a button, and get a ride home, really can be the difference between life and death," said Kelly Mangene, whose daughter was killed by a drunken driver.
Mangene said the driver in that crash had been at a bar for six hours. She said if that person had access to a safe ride home, the way this kiosk provides, her daughter might still be alive.

The Uber kiosk provides clean straws for each user to pick up and insert into the machine. Then the user blows into the straw, waits for a blood alcohol level result, and receives a promotional code regardless of the Breathalyzer result.

“Even if you’ve had no drinks, if you use the kiosk, you will still receive the ride. So whether you’ve had zero or four drinks, it definitely doesn’t encourage anything but safe decision-making,” said Brooke Steger, general manager of Uber Seattle.

She said the company will be paying the drivers for the rides. She anticipates there may be a few thousand people taking advantage of the kiosk during the four-hour period.

Steger also said drivers who have intoxicated passengers getting sick in the vehicle will be compensated for the damage and time off the road.

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