Augustin Cutaj, a driver with Hoyt Livery, opens a newly cleaned town car that he will drive on New Year's Eve.

Photo Credit: Melvin Mason

Hoyt Livery’s Lynda Silvestro is pleased to see New Canaan residents back to using car services for New Year's Eve.

Photo Credit: Melvin Mason

Augustin Cutaj is all ready for a big night on the town. Come Friday night, he will be dressed to impress and ready to take the wheel, driving a sharp black car into New York City, navigating the streets as tourists and locals prepare to bring in 2011.

"Everyone is always excited to go to New York City for New Year's," he said. Cutaj, however, won't be stepping into any private parties or exclusive clubs to watch the clock strike midnight. He is a driver with Hoyt Livery and will be taking revelers from New Canaan and other towns back home safely.

He will not be alone. Lynda Silvestro, Hoyt's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said all of the company's drivers will be ready to roll Friday night to take partygoers where they want to go. The full schedule is in stark contrast to last year. Overall, Silvestro said the company lost about 40 percent of its business from 2008 to 2009. Today, she estimates she has regained about 38 percent of that revenue.

"It's like night and day," Silvestro said, comparing New Year's 2010 to this weekend. "Last year, it was nothing, and many people stayed home. This year, people are going out."

Silvestro said most of Hoyt's customers want to be driven into or out of New York City for New Year's get-togethers. A few enjoy the evening in Stamford or Greenwich. The customers, she said, want to have a good time and be taken where they need to go. They don't want to drive home after drinking or becoming exhausted after a long night out, she said.

Because her company's clients are an adult crowd, she expected many to be back home before 4 a.m. Saturday.

"People want to end their evening on the right note, so they call a driver," she said. "They leave the driving to someone else."

What do you do to ensure safe travel on New Year's Eve? Leave a comment below.