EAST BRUNSWICK — Local students are assured a ride — anytime, anywhere.
Student Lifeline Cards were distributed recently by the East Brunswick Police Department. The cards contain a toll-free phone number a student in a variety of situations can call at any time for a taxi ride, free of charge.
One of the primary goals of the cards is to provide transportation to teenagers who might otherwise get into a car with a drunk driver, but other examples of when it can be used is during a dangerous dating situation, or when a student needs a ride due to a car accident or breakdown.
Director of Public Safety Thomas Finn coordinated the distribution of the Lifeline cards. When a person calls the Lifeline number, an operator will pick up and call a local cab company. The cards offer unlimited usage for one full year, according to the Student Lifeline Web site.
The Student Lifeline program began in 1988, but at that time the cards only stated that drinking and driving do not mix. Eventually, the cards were reworked to where someone could call for a taxi.
"The cards started as a result of learning that the primary cause of teenage death is drunk driving," said Richard Signarino, the director of the Student Lifeline Co.
Signarino said that, while the company does promote its cards, it is often the municipality that approaches the company in pursuit of Lifeline cards.
"We are not that aggressive," Signarino said, noting that its promotional material generally involves mailings.
Funding for the cards is derived primarily from sponsors, whose logos can be found on the cards.
Distributors of the cards can be anyone from schools and police stations to mayors’ offices and fast-food restaurants.
"We print about 1.5 million cards a year, and they are distributed in seven or eight states," Signarino said. "We will pay up to $100 for a ride and 15 percent gratuity, so the cab drivers treat them with the same dignity as any other customer."
Approximately a quarter of a million dollars are spent on the cards and cab rides each year.
The company is located in Franklin Square, N.Y.
Along with the Lifeline cards, the township’s Police Department distributed safety books that contain facts about primary causes of injury, and made students promise to follow the safety tips.

