Biking while too drunk to drive is probably still a bad idea. Not as bad as driving a car, but you can still cause a serious accident on a bike, especially on roads in the US where there aren't even bike lanes in most places.
You can still get a DUI riding a bicycle, if you can believe that. It's fucking stupid as shit, but I know someone whose life was turned upside down because he chose to ride his bike to a bar, thinking he was being responsible.
There is a bar not far from me that has an old public transport bus and a passenger van they use to take people home. I think it's a cool idea because as you say, there isnt a public option.
And of course biking and walking isn't an option, because if you walk or bike home you'll get a public intox rap.
Okay I know this is crazy, but if you just take the drunk person into account and the the only options are walk, bike, or drive. The safest thing for them to do is drive home drunk. Mind you this study was only done with data from America so that may be different in places with different urban planning. And yes that is terrible
I wonder how often this is used to catch dangerous, reckless drivers vs. how often it’s used to fuck over people who are late for work and going 5 mph over the limit.
Funny listen to the party line. This is a decoy. You come up from behind, driving normal, because it's just a taxi. You pass it, going 10 over the 50mph limit. You get pulled over because it's a cop in yellow pants. You get to pay the speed tax and the cop ticks one off on his "totally-not-a-quota-for realsies-you-guys."
The cab company probably paid for the entire vehicle and then "donated it" to the department like that. I'm guessing there's several more like this and that they made a deal with the police to be the preferred referral if the cops call a ride for someone.
I think you could be on to something even given the official explanation from other comments (that it's just for events, with the tag line of 'choose your ride') - I do find it interesting that it has the branding and contact info of one specific cab company...
Some car dealerships by me do this and "donate" police vehicles. You get the company branding, but (at least here) you can also gussy it up with extra boot licking nonsense. A municipality can't necessarily put a huge thin blue line paint job on an interceptor, but if it's a gift then can they really complain? Same with religious shit. Those same cruisers here have "one nation under god" on them as well. So you get a free christofascist oppression-mobile and even the public can't complain away the shit that's on it.
It's also implied that businesses gets preferential treatment. Pizza place gives the station free delivery a few times a week? No tickets. Car dealership gives a vehicle once every few years? No tickets. Cab company makes a ton of sense honestly.