New Year's Eve: Free rides in St. Thomas but not London

Champagne is being poured "beer-like way," achieved by tilting the glass and gently sliding the Champagne down its inside wall into the flute, Thursday Aug. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)

The City of St. Thomas will continue to offer free transit rides this New Year’s Eve, despite the rise in COVID-19 cases.

“We recognize it’s a different time with COVID now, and there are not as many people heading out to a bar, but we still think people should be safe,” said St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston.

Preston said if it does nothing but remind people not to drink and drive, “Then the money is certainly well spent.”

“If someone goes to somebody’s house and it’s safer that they don’t drive, that’s the right thing to do.”

St. Thomas will be providing residents access to buses through their On-Demand Transit service app. This service will allow for anyone to be picked up and dropped off at their requested bus stop locations.

The service will run from 5:45 p.m. on December 31 to 3:15 a.m. on January 1.

According to Preston, St. Thomas will also be lifting overnight parking restrictions on New Year’s Day.

Chaouki Hamka, the director of MADD Canada Ontario-West said, “We applaud and thank those many cities and communities including St. Thomas who provide free bus services for their residents on New Year’s Eve.”

Hamka encourages residents to take advantage of the free service.

“We would like to encourage other municipalities to jump on board and provide this service to their residents,” he said. “With NYE being such a busy night, cab companies and other driving services are backlogged.”

If your New Year’s Eve celebrations involve the consumption of alcohol, MADD asks party hosts to monitor guests' alcohol consumption and to have a plan in place to make sure guests have a safe place to stay or a safe ride home.

For the second year in a row, London transit will not be providing free bus services on New Year’s Eve.

Last year, the London Transit Commission (LTC) said it cancelled free services due to COVID-19 regulations and restrictions.

The LTC won’t be offering free rides this year due to fewer people spending time downtown.

CTV News London contacted the LTC’s chair and vice-chair, however, we did not receive a response to our request for comment.