Operation Red Nose had a record-breaking weekend, whisking 243 would-be drivers - and their passengers - safely home.
That doubles last weekend's effort and tops the city's best-ever showing in 2012 of 222 rides.
"We are absolutely thrilled with the number of party-goers who chose to give us a call and get home safely," said Operation Red Nose spokesperson Andrea Johnson in a press release.
The seasonal service is popular in Prince George, with a total of 356 rides over the course of two weekends. Only Kamloops keeps its red-shirted volunteers busier in B.C., tallying 427 rides in four nights.
Friday's 75 volunteers helped with 95 rides, compared to Saturday's 69 volunteers delivering 148 rides. They covered a total of 6,076 kilometres this weekend - roughly a one-way drive to Canada's east coast traveled in two nights and 12 hours.
But high demand for rides Saturday meant for long wait times - up to an hour - making some opt for alternatives. Twenty-five callers found different ways to get home unlike Friday, which saw every caller get a ride.
"There was a wait time of up to one hour simply because we didn't have enough volunteer teams on the road," Johnson said. "We apologize to the 25 clients that we couldn't get to. We did our best and promise to do better next weekend."
That means Operation Red Nose is ramping up its call for more volunteers. With five more nights left in the holiday season, the organization says there's still plenty of time to sign up at www.ornpg.ca.
Operation Red Nose is a free, seasonal service organized by the Nechako Rotary Club of Prince George in partnership with the RCMP and ICBC that helps those who've had too much to get behind the wheel get themselves and their vehicle home.
It will be in service Dec. 12 and 13, Dec. 19 and 20 and New Year's Eve. For a ride on those nights, call ORN at 250-962-RIDE (7433) between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.
So far 200 volunteers this year have signed up, compared with the 258 last year who gave 1,008 safe rides home in nine nights, which ranked Prince George third overall out of 13 communities in B.C.
