(Middletown, NY)- This morning Senator Bonacic (R/C/I-Mt. Hope) joined fellow elected officials, law enforcement officers and community leaders, and delivered remarks at a press conference to kick off the Alert Cab program. The Alert Cab program, which is sponsored and funded by Dana Distributors in Goshen, NY, provides free cab rides to bar patrons in Orange, Sullivan and Rockland counties. Alert Cab operates during the Super Bowl, St. Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving Eve, and New Year’s Eve, which sees the highest volume of riders.

 The program has been around for 29 years, and was started by Fred Dana, Jr., the current President of Dana Distributors. Over 700 bars, and 20 cab companies from Orange, Sullivan and Rockland counties participate in the Alert Cab program. In the last six years alone, Alert Cab has provided free cab rides to 908 people. Through the partnership of Dana Distributors, law enforcement, and local elected officials, Alert Cab has minimized the number of drunk driving arrests in the area, and has contributed to the decrease in drunk driving fatalities locally.