If you’re happy and you know it... hail a cab

This new year’s Eve, if you indulge beyond your limit and are not in a position to drive, play it safe; because a host of services will help you commute and stay out of harm’s way.

Cab services in Bangalore as well as the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Service (BMTC) buses are making themselves available in a big way to make sure that 2011 is not ushered on a sour note.

A senior manager with Meru Cabs said, “We will ensure that all customers who approach us get dropped on time and safely at the destination of their choice. We have 1,200 cabs in Bangalore. Even if a reveller is in an intoxicated condition, we will ensure that he/she reaches the destination safely.’’

But there would be no bulk advance booking, and it would completely be on first-come-first-served basis.

Another cab service, Easy Cabs, too, will be in the game all night. “If the customer gives us the correct address and wants us to pick up or drop, we will do so even if the passenger is highly intoxicated. There would be no problems,’’ said a driver who has been briefed about his functions tonight.

If not the cab service, you could also rely on public transport. BMTC has extended its service time by an hour from its daily 11.30pm cut-off time. BMTC officials said that even Volvo buses will continue late into the night to ferry commuters who need to leave behind their private vehicles due to over-indulgence.

Various high-end hotels and service apartments, too, have come up with party-cum-stay packages to help minimise the risk of revellers driving back home in an inebriated state.

“We have expanded our service this New Year’s for Bangaloreans. People should not face any problems after the bash,’’ said Vipin K, owner of a chain of service apartments.

The city police have also beefed-up security by installing CCTV cameras at various important junctions, especially on MG Road and Brigade Road, to ensure that there is no violence.