The country's second-largest beer company wants you to have a safe ride home Monday night -- on its dime.

MillerCoors is once again partnering with Metro Transit to offer free bus and light-rail rides throughout the Twin Cities on one of the busiest party days of the year.

More than 37,000 people took advantage of the Miller Lite Free Rides promotion last year, according to the brewing giant.

The sober-cab option may help explain why drunken driving arrests on New Year's Eve have been declining in recent years. In 2011-12 there were 262 drunken driving arrests on New Year's Eve, down from 435 in 2005-06.

Miller Lite has offered free rides on St. Patrick's Day in the Twin Cities for the past 16 years. This is the second time the company has offered the service on New Year's Eve.

The free fares will begin at 6 p.m. Monday and continue until the end of regular service. The last scheduled light-rail line leaves the Warehouse District at 1:16 a.m. (a handful of buses depart downtown Minneapolis past the 2 a.m. bar-close).

For those partying even later, there are alternatives (other than trying to hail a cab), such as Drink and Drive Intelligently, which will drive you and your car home starting at $40.

Be jolly. Be safe.