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Photo via Lyft.

Lyft will offer up to $75,000 in coupons to customers in Seattle over the next year as part of a new city initiative to curb drunk driving and car crashes.

In what is described as a “first-of-its-kind partnership,” Lyft will provide ride vouchers to bars in seven Seattle neighborhoods that give new and current Lyft users $10 off for five separate rides that either originate or end in Ballard, Fremont, Capitol Hill, Pioneer Square, Belltown, South Lake Union, and the University District. The coupons are valid today through 2016 and can only be used from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Seattle skyline and Rainier at sunsetThe partnership is part of Seattle’s Vision Zero plan to end traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets by 2030. The city says more than 10,000 crashes and 20 fatalities happen each year on its streets, with 30 to 50 percent of those deaths resulting from impaired driving.

“Vision Zero is a city effort that includes community partnership. We’re launching this program with Lyft to make Seattle streets safer for everyone,” Seattle Department of Transportation Director Scott Kubly said in a statement. “If you’re planning on a night out that includes drinking, plan ahead by using rideshare or taxi.”

Lyft approached the city with this idea after learning that Vision Zero was a high priority for Mayor Ed Murray.

“It’s the first of many ways we look forward to working with Seattle city agencies to address city and regional transportation needs,” Emily Castor, Lyft’s director of transportation policy, told GeekWire.

The specific neighborhoods were selected based on city data that shows which areas have a higher frequency of impairment-related crashes.

“With our data and with Lyft’s technology, we can pinpoint the areas and times of days where these types of crashes are happening,” the city wrote in a blog post.

We’ve reached out to Uber for comment and will update this post when we hear back. Seattle Department of Transportation spokesman Rick Sheridan said that the city is open to additional partnerships that could help address drunk driving.

“We have been in discussions with other providers such as Uber and the local taxi companies,” he noted.

Lyft, which is now valued at nearly $5 billion after raising an additional $248 million last week, will open a permanent office space for its engineering center in Seattle this March. The new 11,200 square-foot building will also house employees on the marketing team, as well as a driver support center.

In September, Lyft said it more than doubled the number of rides and number of active drivers on the Lyft platform in Seattle during 2015.

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