In college towns there is a high incidence of both late-night debauchery and pizza consumption. There are also issues with drunk driving and transportation home from a night of drinking. It is quite obvious that telling people not to party does not work (they only party harder). Equally ineffective is making transportation from parties/bars difficult - that only exacerbates the problem of drunk driving. Shutting bus lines, ticketing cars parked between odd hours such as 2:00 to 6:00 AM, and "fishing" for DUI cases while other serious crimes are being committed just doesn't seem to work. People still do it. While it is important to understand that especially if one must drive they should limit their drinking, a safe alternative to driving is necessary as well. Taxi services are the obvious choice but dedicated taxi fleets are energy-intensive, expensive, and sometimes prone to overload.
Based upon some observations of friends in the delivery pizza business, I've come up with one hypothetical answer: Take advantage of the massive power of late-night pizza establishments. Pizza shops are continuously sending cars out to various areas, with the delivery load often peaking slightly after the closing of bars or events. The cars are already running, the gas is already burning.
Intoxicated partygoers could call a pizza shop and tell them the general area in which they need to go. Even if it is not a direct drop-off, a drop-off a few blocks away would most often be sufficient - the 18-23 year old patrons are usually physically fit and can handle a walk. Most people in these situations are capable of functioning - they simply lack the motor skills and reaction times require to safely operate a vehicle and would peg a Breathalyzer if one were issued. Once a delivery has been called to the general area, the partygoer is picked up at a predefined location (maybe at the store, or at a street corner, building, etc. negotiated with the driver). A flat fare can be charged, but it must be much less than that imposed by the regular taxi companies. A tip to the driver is also expected, being based upon the distance driven. The rider must be able to tolerate sitting through pizza drop-offs which may occur along the way. As the desired product is the pizza delivery, this must take priority over the taxi service in order to keep the pizza business reputable with short delivery times.
Such a service would add practically no cost to delivery drivers - the fuel burn in the cars would increase by an insignificant amount (hauling more mass around), delivery times may be extended by 1-2 minutes. The fares and tips received would far exceed any costs, safety would be increased far above the level of drunk driving, and gasoline consumption as a whole would be decreased.
The concept is similar to cogeneration in the energy world where the already-running car is being used to deliver an extra service, just as the already-burning fuel for electricity generation is used to produce useful heat as well.
The users of such a service would go into it knowing that they will pay a lower fare than a traditional taxi cab, but sacrifice convenience (waiting for a delivery to their destination, or the risk that there may not be one).
Of course, in this age of lawsuits, government and insurance industry concern, taxi companies possibly speaking of "unfair competition", and possibility for violence, such a service could never exist legally. It is, however, a very interesting solution to several problems (drunk driving, energy consumption, cost of taxi cabs, etc.) which doesn't require fancy technology and has no huge economic debt to be bestowed upon taxpayers and ratepayers.