LI company offers designated driving in your own car

Who’s gonna drive you home tonight?

If the Deer Park-based company Late Night Chauffeurs has its way, it would be one of its drivers — in your own car.

The 1984 song “Drive” by The Cars poses this very question that many customers of the designated driving service ask themselves, its founders say.

Daniel Cantelmo and John Yancigay launched Late Night Chauffeurs, which dispatches drivers to pick you up and drive your car home, in December 2015, in part to help deter drunken driving.

As summer begins, the best friends and business partners, both 30, are gearing up for their busiest time of the year. As the temperatures increase, so too does the demand for their services, especially in Long Beach, Huntington and Jones Beach.

Cantelmo and Yancigay say by putting their own spin on the typical taxi or ride-hailing service, they are able to square up against their competition, including Uber and Lyft.

Customers are willing to hand over their keys because a one-way trip home with Late Night Chauffeurs after first driving themselves to the destination can be cheaper than round-trip fare, the founders say.

The appeal of their service is simple: “It all comes down to, people want their car in the driveway in the morning,” said Yancigay, who lives in Farmingdale.

Cantelmo and Yancigay have partnered with performance venues and restaurants such as Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh and The Paramount in Huntington, as well as restaurants across the Island such as Prime in Huntington, Monsoon in Babylon and Tellers in Islip to have Late Night Chauffeurs be the recommended means of transport. Most customers arrange pickups in advance, the pair said, and much of their business is the result of referrals. They are also a popular means of transport for wedding guests.

Rides start at $28 and average between $50 and $60 for a 20- to 25-minute ride. A trip from The Paramount to Massapequa costs about $65, for example. The company operates Sunday to Wednesday from noon to 1 a.m. and Thursday to Saturday from noon to 3 a.m. Reservations are recommended but not required unless rides are requested during off hours.

Danielle Famiglietti, 42, is a repeat customer of Late Night Chauffeurs. Her first trip, two months ago, from Farmingdale to her home in Wantagh was arranged the same day. Most recently, Famiglietti said she made a reservation for a ride home from her brother-in-law’s wedding in Roslyn, costing her $50.

“I had my children with me and needed to ensure an accurately timed ride home,” Famiglietti said. “I like being able to drive myself, my family and my friends places and have the ability to drink responsibly because I know I can count on them to pick me up.”

Famiglietti said she has never used Uber or Lyft because she would never put her children — who are ages 7 and 9 — in a stranger’s car.

“I feel much safer in my own car,” she said.