Gasparilla and driving go together like rum and coke… wait no, that’s wrong. No one should ever try to navigate a vessel through the muck of traffic at Tampa’s annual day of debauched drunkenness.
That’s why Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART), Lyft and even Captain Morgan are all giving Bay area revelers a way to pretty much put the car keys away on January 26.
HART says that folks who park in Ybor City can take the free streetcar to downtown Tampa (service from 8:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.). HART is even offering free, continuous bus service from from station No. 3 (Streetcar Society Station) and station No. 4 (Cadrecha Station) to station No. 10 (Dick Greco Plaza) in downtown Tampa (9:30 a.m. to 7 a.m.).
Too bougie for the bus?
Captain Morgan has taken it one step further by pledging up to $20,000 in Lyft rides. Gasparilla revelers can use the code “LIKEACAPTAIN2019” on Saturday, January 26 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. to receive a $20 credit toward their ride fare within five miles of downtown Tampa.
What’s more is that Lyft will use its “Lyft x Found” program to give free rides to anyone who loses valuables (read: your phone) during Gasparilla. For a two-week period from January 27 to February 10, anyone can call the Gasparilla event festival office at (813) 251-8844 and commandeer a free Lyft ride to either turn-in or pick up valuables lost during that fifth attempt at a keg stand.
Be safe out there, friends, and remember to drink a lot of water, too.
This article appears in Jan 17-24, 2019.