Palos Park & Palos Heights Offer Free Rides Home on New Years Eve

PALOS, IL -- If you'll be ringing in the new year in Palos Park or Palos Heights and drink too much to drive home safely, both communities are offering free ride home services throughout the night.

Via Limo will be providing free service to Palos Heights residents between midnight and 4 a.m. on January 1st. Simply dial them at 708-349-7700 and they'll send out a driver to get you home safely- no questions asked, no money taken. The Palos Heights service is funded in part by a grant from the Michael P. Gordon Foundation, which was established in honor of the CPD officer who was on patrol at the intersection of Jackson Boulevard and Sacramento Boulevard, when his squad car was struck by an intoxicated, unlicensed driver who ran a red light, killing him and severely injuring his partner in 2004.

The Palos Park Police Department will also be offering free rides home throughout the village. You can contact them at 708-448-2191, or by calling Police Chief Joe Miller's cell at 708-259-1035. "Before you get behind the wheel of your car after you have been drinking, prevent a potential disaster, and simply call us," the department said in a Facebook post. PPPD will also send officers to check on underage people left at home between 7 p.m. and 4 a.m. .

Police Departments across the country will be stepping up their patrols in order to prevent deadly accidents. See the Palos Park Police Department's Public Safety Announcement below:

If possible, use public transportation on Monday evening. Pace Suburban Bus and the Chicago Transit Authority are providing free rides on all fixed bus routes and rail lines between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. . Note that the last Metra outbound train to Orland Park will depart Union Station at 11:40 p.m. . The Southwest Service will not run on January 1st.

If none of the above options will work for you, be sure to download Uber, Lyft, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's SaferRide app on your phone.