BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — The Bartlesville Police Department is giving free rides on New Year’s Eve to help keep the community safe.

“The idea is to let anybody who may have had too much to drink, have a safe ride home, not make any bad decisions, really increase the safety of our public and the safety of our people going to and from their house,” said Lt. Chris Neal.

Getting the free ride is easy. All you have to do is call 918-338-4001 and tell the dispatcher you want to arrive home safely. Dispatch will send an officer to your location and they will take you home.

Lt. Neal says they want to keep the community safe while building a relationship with them.

“Gives them a chance to see us outside a just normal stop, a normal police encounter,” said Lt. Neal.

He says there are no strings attached, they don’t want people drinking and driving.

“We want to get people home safe. There’s no gimmicks. There’s no tricks, anything like that,” said Lt. Neal.

This is the fourth year the department is offering safe rides.

“We are hoping to up numbers this year and let them get home and build that relationship. At this point, four or five years in, this is not a gimmick,” said Lt. Neal.

The rides will be available from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on New Year’s Eve.