Hong Kong does indeed have excellent public transport, and you are right that public transport is mediocre in many territories, particularly in rural areas. But

Hong Kong does indeed have excellent public transport, and you are right that public transport is mediocre in many territories, particularly in rural areas. But most places really don’t require you to have a car (for starters, because many people cannot afford one). Thus, there is almost always a relatively cheap and decent option to get around, from matatus in Kenya, jeepneys in the Philippines, songthaew in Laos, to the agua guagua in Puerto Rico and the marshrutka in the former USSR. That has been my experience in all the places you mentioned except the USA and Australia. Let me rephrase my point a bit - independently of the quality of public transport, not being able to drive is not a big deal in most places except the USA. (An additional indicator for that might be the fact that the driver’s license operates as the de-facto ID card in the US.)