Results: Too drunk to drive? Get Home Safe Winnipeg takes you, and your vehicle, home

It’s not Uber, but Winnipeggers are being offered another solution to drinking and driving that doesn’t involve a cab or a bus. Local entrepreneurs Alejandro Yero, Deepu Khalsa, Sandeep Sidhu and Manny Singh have started a business called Get Home Safe Winnipeg. All four men are part owners and drivers for the business. “We’re basically a designated-driving company, similar to Operation Red Nose,” said Yero. “You call us, book an appointment, and we drive you and your vehicle home.” But Operation Red Nose is a seasonal non-profit, where as Get Home Safe Winnipeg is a year-round for-profit company. If a vehicle used to transport people for hire, and is owned by a company — it needs to be licensed as a taxicab, according to MPI Spokesperson, Brian Smiley. But that isn’t how the new business works. “We’re driving people’s vehicles, they own them,” Yero said. “Instead of paying for a taxi and leaving your vehicle, two of our guys show up. One drives you and your vehicle home, and the other follows in our vehicle to retrieve our driver.” A company doing a similar service previously existed, according to Yero. Yero, Khalsa, Sidhu and Singh worked for the business, but the owners decided to shut down, as they were busy with full time jobs. “A few months later, we were like, ‘Why not?’” said Yero. “There is high demand, and we know what we’re doing. We’re getting calls every day now.” Yero said they receive between two and five calls a day, but on weekends it’s been between five and 10. Rates can be viewed on their website. The Manitoba Taxicab Board could not be reached for comment by deadline.