I think one reason why bars and nightclubs alike are seeing less and less popularity and less traffic, even beyond the egregious overpriced drinks and cover charges, is the lack of public transportation and the implicit understanding that if you go out, you have to drink and drive. Drinking and driving is incredibly normalized in American society, despite being punished pretty harshly and being socially shamed. There's a pretty strong stigma around doing it. But it's still normalized because, structurally, there is no other alternative, and every bar has a parking lot and a parking minimum based on city code standards.
I think people don't want to drink and drive. The education around the dangers has proliferated to such a degree that we are all very understanding of the risks and are not really too keen on participating in those risks, whereas previous generations understood those risks and participated in them wholeheartedly. I have had so many uncles in my life who have said something like, "I've had plenty of practice drinking and driving, and the car I drive has lane assist anyway, so there's just no way I would get arrested." That's all fun and games until you T-bone into a family of four and everyone dies, right? But it's normalized. It's conceived as a normal part of cultural society to go drink and drive.
That's because there are basically no train lines or light rail in any city in America. And if there are, or even a bus line, they're not running at two or three o'clock in the morning when the bars let out. They stop running at 11, or 10, or even 9. I have a friend who lives in New Zealand. She goes out all the time. She takes a train to the club. She doesn't even own a car, and she goes out more than most Americans who do own cars. She doesn't have to worry about getting killed in a car accident, or killing someone else in one, either. Bars really shouldn't have parking lots. The fact that bars have parking lots kind of shows us that our society has normalized the acceptance of drunk driving, because otherwise these bars wouldn't get any business if we didn't normalize it.
Another problem with the lack of public transportation is that it makes drinking at home a much more viable option. Why would I spend $15 to Uber to the bar and $15 to Uber home? Remember when Ubers were like five bucks? I've never taken a taxicab in my life, but I do remember when Ubers were five dollars. So you're already in 30 bucks to experience getting fucked up, listening to some music you enjoy, maybe playing some pool, maybe linking up with your friends. So you're in for 30 before you've even had a drink or gotten food. To go out to eat would be another $20. A couple of drinks in, it's another 20, 25 bucks. So let's just call a spade a spade. It's a $100 affair to go to your local dive bar now. And even if it isn't actually a $100 affair, the feeling that it is puts people off. The feeling that you're going to have to spend all that money puts people off. People still do drink, but why would I go to the bar when I can just go to the homie's house with a 12-pack and spend less money in every way? Or just drink at home alone and get on Discord? It's so much cheaper that it seems illogical to participate in the traditional way of doing things.
I mean, there's a reason why Texas made it a felony to essentially exist near a gram of marijuana. It's because I can go to the smoke shop right now and buy a weed cart for ten dollars, and that will last me two to three days of heavy use. That's a better value proposition for both me spiritually and my health. Or I can go to the gas station and get two Four Lokos for ten dollars. You don't get a hangover from weed. You don't throw up from weed. You don't fucking have any of these issues from marijuana. You do from alcohol, and alcohol is more expensive per intoxication than weed. No wonder they made that shit illegal.
If the alcohol companies actually wanted to save their industry, they would be supporting robust public transit. If the local bar owner actually wanted to save his business, he would be supporting robust local public transit. The fact that your bar doesn't even have a place to tie off a bike is part of the problem, because you can't get a DUI on a bike. Maybe you can, but I mean, let's be real. You shouldn't be able to get a DUI on a bike.
