[rwl]

Public transportation does enable drinking. That is one reason why young people move to, and like to live in, cities with public transportation.

But there are still huge, important differences between public transport and "ride sharing". Public transportation almost never takes you point to point. You are expected to navigate public transportation on your own, including getting in and out at the right stops. Public transportation usually has sharply reduced service several hours before bars close. You also need a ticket, which often means you must be sober enough to work a machine that only takes cash.

If public transport is your ride home, you need to be a lot more sober than the people the author is writing about.

There are important differences compared to taxis, too. To take a taxi, you must (often) be prepared to pay in cash. You must have enough verbal control to give your address.

It is not implausible that ride sharing apps enable a kind of binge drinking that is qualitatively different from the kind people do when they have to take another way home.

[fy20]

> If public transport is your ride home, you need to be a lot more sober than the people the author is writing about

Having lived in London when I was younger I beg to differ. I only ended up at the last stop and having to walk home a couple of miles a few times. One time I managed to cycle from Leicester Square to Chelsea - I don't know why, I didn't live anywhere near Chelsea.

[LilBytes]

Yeah before ride sharing in the UK and later Australia, I got the train home, fell asleep, woke up in the middle of nowhere as the sun crept into view at least half a dozen times.

Ride sharing certainly increased my chances of getting home successfully, though my anecdotal experience is it wouldn't have had an impact on levity or intoxication.

[FpUser]

I was in London on some software related business. So those brits invited me for a lunch at about 11AM. All came down to some place (my first time in London ever) and ordered pints. Talked a bit. Finished first pint then ordered another. After 5th pint I asked how about a lunch. This is a focken lunch was the answer. Loved those brits.

[bencollier49]

I think the 1970s and '80s in the UK were the heyday for this sort of thing. Typically you'd have a couple of pints at lunch time - a lot of offices had bars (rather like coworking spaces today..) and often just stay in the pub. The drinking culture had got larger because of the growth of the middle class - more people moving into office jobs.

By the time I entered the workforce in 1999, this sort of thing was on the wane, although it varied enormously by industry and company. I think the change happened because of the increasing computerisation of jobs (where you could do more damage with the tap of a finger), in addition to women joining the workforce in more senior positions. And probably longer commutes, tougher drink-driving laws, and more formalised HR policies.

A small part of me is nostalgic for it, but it was obviously ridiculously unhealthy. That said, a lot of work was actually done in the pub, and it's possible that people found solutions with their social guard down that they wouldn't have found whilst in the office.

[FpUser]

>"By the time I entered the workforce in 1999"

This was the end of 1998. The company was traders and there were numerous bottles of hard alcohol in the open. I was amazed.

[bencollier49]

Yeah, it hung on for ages in banking, didn't it? A lot of law firms still have a drinks trolley which goes around on Friday. Pretty sure banking is still pretty full-on.

[tomcam]

Gemma was why. Or Fiona? Fiona.

[Broken_Hippo]

FWIW: I can't remember the last time I paid cash for a bus or a taxi. You don't need enough verbal control to give your address: I've taken taxis and have had language communication issues: I just show them the address on a piece of paper.

I only need to be sober enough to walk a short way (Bus) or go up some stairs (Taxi). [most of the ride sharing is illegal here, as they are basically alternative taxis - though they still exist. The taxi service isn't all that expensive, though, and easy to get]

[anamax]

> To take a taxi, you must (often) be prepared to pay in cash. You must have enough verbal control to give your address.

(Some) Taxi companies have apps too.

[robertlagrant]

> You must have enough verbal control to give your address

Showing a piece of paper with your address on it is not harder than using an app.

[Broken_Hippo]

That's a good tip if you have a language barrier as well.

[b112]

Public transportation does enable drinking.

No?! I grew up a 500 miles from public transportation, I assure you plenty of drinking happened in my community. And history is replete with people drinking in the past, more so than we drink now!

This part of your statement baffles me.

[brewdad]

It enables "responsible" drinking. If I know I don't have to drive home, I can have that shot my buddy is pushing at me. After I've had that shot, me buying another round will seem like a great idea so I'll have another shot.

Rinse. Repeat.

I can't walk anything resembling a straight line by the end of the night but at least I won't be driving home drunk.

[kjkjadksj]

Pretty common to use designated drivers before ubers. Every bar would also be able to call a cab for you, at least for bars that would have rideshare coverage today.

[mhh__]

My dad had to get a cab for one of his bar staff and take them to a hospital back in the 90s because he only thought to tell the management, on the re-opening night, that he was a haemophiliac - after he'd cut himself on a broken glass, and reminded himself he was a haemophiliac.

[mhh__]

This comment reads like you struggle with comprehension.

At no point, ever, did they say anything like public transport being a necessary condition to have people drinking. Come on.

[b112]

That is one reason why young people move to, and like to live in, cities with public transportation.

I've simply never heard anyone suggest a move to the city, so they could drink more easily, or more often.

That includes people I grew up with in a rural setting, and people I know well in the large city I now live in.

I feel that this is perhaps a thought given rise, by people who haven't lived without public transit. It just doesn't scan.

Designated drivers have been a thing forever, as well as passing out on a buddy's couch.

If anything, people in rural areas seem to drink more, due to boredom, compared to city dwellers.

Maybe your experiences are different, but it sure seems strange on this side of the screen.

[xboxnolifes]

The existence of drinking in areas with a lack of public transport does not disprove the claim that public transport enables drinking.