What do we do?

[Praktica]

Another  downside:  Rural and provincial townships would be depopulated.  Imagine needing to hail a ride in  Huntly or Port Chalmers.    Without gigantic government subsidies public transport won't work in small towns.

I live in a small rural town and much as I would love to use public transport (and wouldn't mind paying a fair price) I wrestle with myself over every decision to travel because it always boils down to a choice between walking or driving or staying at home .  There are no other options.

In my lifetime, Port Chalmers had frequent commuter trains to Dunedin, and its own shopping centre, so that trips to town could be infrequent. There's no reason why this shouldn't be the case again.