Franklin County residents heading out for Halloween weekend can claim up to $15 in Uber or Lyft credits under Project Plan Ahead, a program the Ohio Traffic Safety Office announced on Oct. 28 it will activate for the holiday. The office, a division of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, said credits can be redeemed from 5 p.m. on Oct. 29 through 3 a.m. on Nov. 2, giving Columbus-area riders a lower-cost alternative to driving impaired.
To qualify, a ride must start in or have a destination within one of seven participating counties: Franklin, Butler, Cuyahoga, Hamilton, Lucas, Montgomery and Summit, according to the Ohio Traffic Safety Office release. Credits are available while supplies last, any fare beyond the $15 credit is the rider’s responsibility, and eligible rides must be requested at the time of travel rather than scheduled in advance. The Columbus Dispatch reported that the next round of credit codes will be released on Oct. 30 at 10 a.m.
The program targets one of the highest-risk travel periods of the year. In 2025, 19 people were killed in 19 fatal crashes in Ohio over the five-day Halloween reporting period, and 13 of those crashes were OVI-related, according to the Ohio Traffic Safety Office. The office also said 12 fatal crashes last Halloween involved drugs or a combination of alcohol and drugs, a 33 percent increase from the year before and a 200 percent increase from 2021.
Franklin County carries one of the heaviest Halloween impaired-driving burdens in the state. Over the past five years, Franklin County recorded 83 OVI-related crashes over the Halloween reporting period, second only to Cuyahoga County’s 95, according to the crash figures in the Ohio Traffic Safety Office release.
Project Plan Ahead is not new to Ohio holiday weekends. The Columbus Dispatch reported that the program was first used over Memorial Day weekend this year, when 2,000 credits were claimed and more than 1,200 rides were taken statewide, according to the Ohio Traffic Safety Office. For Labor Day weekend, the Dispatch reported, Ohio gave out 5,502 credits and 4,226 were redeemed, and the safety office recorded a 55 percent decrease in traffic fatalities that weekend compared with Labor Day weekend in 2025.
For Columbus residents, the timing covers a weekend of Halloween parties and late nights out, when the choice of how to get home is often made at the end of the evening. The credit is designed for that moment: the ride is requested when it is needed, the $15 covers much of a short trip home within the county, and no advance booking is required. Riders expecting a longer trip should plan for the balance above the credit.
The credit window opens at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, and runs through 3 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 2, with additional codes due Oct. 30 at 10 a.m., according to The Columbus Dispatch. Ohioans can check eligibility, ride codes and participating partners through the Ohio Traffic Safety Office. Officials urge anyone who plans to drink this weekend to plan the ride home before going out.