Free Rides Could Come to Metro on New Year's Eve: Reports

Are you planning to go out and celebrate on New Year’s Eve? If so, one of America’s largest beer companies wants to give you a free trip home on a Metro train or bus, according to media reports.

The Metro system’s board of directors is expected to vote Thursday on a proposal from MillerCoors LLC to pay the fares of all riders on Metrorail and Metrobus, radio station WTOP reported Tuesday. The deal would cover all fares for up to three hours, from midnight on New Year’s Eve to the closure of the Metro system early on Jan. 1.

On weekends, Metro trains and buses cease operations at 3 a.m.

MillerCoors would pay Metro about $165,000, a figure based on post-New Year’s Eve ridership in the last two years, the Washington Business Journal reported.

MillerCoors has sponsored free ride programs in other cities around the country on New Year’s Eve to promote what it calls “responsible commuting,” WTOP said.