A paper urinal has been installed in the men's washroom at Cinema Public House in downtown Vancouver.

VANCOUVER - It’s found in a downtown pub and looks like a urinal — but the team who set it up really hopes nobody is going to empty their bladder in it.

That’s because the newly installed bowl at Cinema Public House is actually a poster designed to mimic the men’s washroom fixture as an initiative to stop drunk driving.

Kevin Barclay of Taxi Vancouver, the advertising firm that installed it, said they might have to consider moisture-resistant paper if too many guys pee on it, but that hasn’t happened so far.

The firm has partnered up with Sober Ride, a Vancouver designated-driver service that launched in April. The dial-a-driver program’s number is pasted above the urinal image, with the message, “If you’re peeing here, you’re too drunk to drive.”

Sober Ride founder Jason Wu, a youth worker, is familiar with the dangers of teens and young adults who drive intoxicated.

“I just want to see people get home safely and not crash their cars and get DUIs,” he said. “We charge people a fare to drive their cars, based on kilometres driven. It generally works out to be $10 more than a taxi.

“People are quite receptive to that because if they taxi home, they’ll have to taxi back in the morning and leave their car behind.”

In any case, both Barclay and Wu are waiting to see if the idea takes off before thinking of expanding to other liquor-serving establishments.