Sean Combs has decided to do good this New Year’s Eve. He and his team have joined forces with New York’s Taxi and Limousine Commission to provide free cab rides home to New Yorkers who choose to celebrate the holiday with bottles of booze. $15 vouchers will be handed out at Times Square and in Chelsea from Wednesday at 11pm until early in the morning on Thursday. Combs says that even though New Years Eve should be fun, that doesn’t mean people should be taking risks:
New York is the world’s most iconic New Year’s Eve city, so let’s lead by example and show everyone that a sophisticated holiday celebration doesn’t just end when the ball drops, but when everyone gets home safely.
[from ContactMusic]
This is sort of like a PSA in action. Instead of filming an ad, he’s actually taking it to the streets. That sounds pretty good to me. I’m wondering what the response would be if someone like Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Barron Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, Shia LeBeouf, Heather Locklear, or even Mischa Barton (to name a few) had thought of this. At least Sean Combs/Puff Daddy/P Diddy (just pick one!) isn’t being a complete hypocrite here. Still, I wonder how many people will take him up on this. Sure, it’s a free cab ride, but if you’re going to be a moron and drive drunk, you’re going to be a moron and drive drunk.
But he may have an ulterior motive to all of this. He also wants to redesign the New Year’s Eve Ball to resemble the “well-known blue stone emblem” of his brand of vodka, Ciroc. He’s promised to give $1 million to charity if the city lets him go through with it. That’s not a charity donation; that’s a payment for an advertisement. But if he looks like he’s doing good by giving out free cab credits to revelers who may have gotten drunk on his vodka, he might get the public on his side.
Clever, but somehow I doubt Michael Bloomberg would agree.
Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Diddy and his son, Justin Combs, getting some last minute Christmas Eve shopping done on Robertson Blvd. in Los Angeles. Images thanks to Fame. Header of promo flyer for Diddy’s New Years Eve party. Images thanks to Mavrix.
I have lived in three large (over 1,000,000 population) cities in the last 20 years, and in all three of them, the cab companies gave free rides on New Year’s Eve anyway. I thought this was just something cab companies did?
GOOD LUCK W/ THAT
Who cares what his motivation is? If it saves a single life, it’s worth it.
Yes here in ohio, cab companies do give free rides on new years. Sadly it takes up to 3 hours for them to arrive. Its at least 1 hour wait time for them to pick you up.
Puffy/Diddy/Daddy/Dumbass/Whatever he goes by these days is an arrogant overhyped prick, but I gotta give him props for bringing attention to and trying to help solve the problem of drunk driving… even though here in NYC most cab companies do in fact provide free rides on Christmas and New Year’s, as Syko mentioned above.
It’s the thought that counts, I guess.
So, Dude WTF, you have to try to make a drunken but intelligent decision a couple of hours before closing time as to whether or not you’re going to be too drunk to drive home later? That’s probably too much for the average New Year’s Eve reveler!
I guess Puffy or whatever his name is this week does deserve some sort of kudos for at least thinking this idea of his would be a good thing. Too bad he’s too out of touch with reality to realize someone thought of it years ago.
Syko why are you such a douchbag? Im just stating a fact!!! Alot people arent drunk at 11:30pm & are OK to drive. Unless people are planning on being shitfaced at 2:30am, thats prob not gonna happen.
Dude, I wasn’t trying to be a douchebag. I was commiserating with you on the 3 hour wait. Reread my first paragraph, it says the same thing as your second post, only with less typing errors and misspelled words.
Well, if Doody Daddy was really concerned about drunk driving – he would not be selling liquor, nor own a company that sells a product that places people’s lives in danger! People do not just drink and drive only on New Year’s Eve…Money cannot buy intelligence, it’s obvious in his case.
Interesting coming from the same arrogant prick who wants his vodka to be the official drink of New York New Years.
This guy does nothing without an ulterior motive. His gesture is a hollow one.
i agree with dante & feebee. pissy dick or whatever he’s called needs to go away and stop acting like he cares about anyone or anything but himself.
Really enjoyed reading this, thanks!