Sudbury Transit and police offering tips to get home safely New Year's Eve

As people get set to ring in the New Year, police and transit services are working to ensure people have options when it comes to leaving the party after a few drinks.

Police in northeastern Ontario are gearing up for New Year's Eve by issuing tips for people to stay safe.

Sergeant Tim Burtt with the Greater Sudbury Police Services says even though it is a festive season, he "doesn't want people to become a statistic."

"The biggest thing is to plan ahead, make sure that you have a designated driver, some means to get yourself home," Burtt says. "And if not, spend the night where you're going to be, whether it's going to be at a hotel or at a friend's place."

Burtt saysthat he is optimistic that people will take advantage of alternative forms of transportation offered in the city.

"We do have the a lot of people right now, I'm finding, are actually employing the whole designated driver idea," he says. "Having done several of the RIDE spot checks, it's amazing how many people actually are using designated drivers and we applaud them for that."

Challenges in a rural area

People celebrating in more rural areas may have extra challenges accessing transportation, but they should still take care, police say.

Constable Robert Knight with the OPP's Highway Safety Division saysrural highways have a higher percentage of collisions because they aren't always divided roadways,

"On those particular highways, especially for persons who are impaired or their attention's not fully on driving, you can have a crossover collision which usually is head-on and that usually can have catastrophic consequences," Knight says.

"Even on the rural stretches of the highway, we have a lot of trees, a lot of obstacles that you could hit if you end up going off the road."

"So we're encouraging people to think twice no matter where you live in the province...if you need to stay home, please do so," he says.

The City of Sudbury will also be offering extended free bus serviceNew Year's Eve to help reduceimpaired driving.

Manager of Transit and Fleet Administration, Paul Schweyer, saysthe service will also be extended later than usual.

"On New Year's Eve after 10:00 you can ride Greater SudburyTransit free of charge," Schweyer said. "The transit service schedule has also been extended for New Year's celebrations. So basically we are offering a later service and more routes...11 routes to be exact."

You can see the full list of bus routes and schedules here.