Dublin goes public but taxis for rest

PARTYGOERS hoping to ring in 2008 with a glass of champagne or a few pints will have to queue for taxis or designate a driver, as public transport will not be available in most parts of the country for one of the busiest nights of the year.

The Night Rider late- night service, which operates between many regional towns and surrounding rural areas at weekends, will not be running this evening, Bus Éireann said.

In Dublin, Nitelink services will run until 4.30am. The Luas green line will run until 3.30am while the red line will run until 3am. Dart services will finish at 9pm.

But there is no Nitelink or public late-night bus service in the other main cities including Cork, Limerick and Galway.

As a result, more than 1,600 pubs, clubs and restaurants are taking part in the designated driver campaign, where they will offer three free soft drinks to any person who is driving at least two others home. The full list of these pubs can be found on www.designateddriver.ie.

The drinks awareness group run by the drinks industry, Meas — or Mature Enjoyment of Alcohol in Society — is warning revellers to be safe this evening, and said a little bit of forward planning can help everyone enjoy themselves a little bit better.

Chief executive Fionnuala Sheehan said: “We would encourage people going out on New Year’s Eve to consider public transport and taxi options before heading out.”

The latest campaign by Meas highlights the unacceptable impact of drunken behaviour on innocent parties, including accident and emergency departments, nurses, neighbours, people out alone, shop workers and taxi drivers.

“It is important that partygoers take personal responsibility for their drinking and acknowledge the effect their celebrations can have on others such as neighbours or those working,” said Ms Sheehan.

The campaign is supported by the Irish Taxi Drivers’ Federation.

Federation president John Usher said: “There are over 20,000 taxis on the streets and most taxi drivers have had to scrub vomit off their back seats, all because people don’t know when they’ve had enough to drink.”