Not everyone has moved to a rural area - some of us have always lived here (or almost in my case). I've done a bit of city living, but it didn't suit me. I'm used to the quieter, slower pace of life. I chuckle when some of you get all uppity because someone passes the time of day with a bus driver - that's the way it is in these here parts.
I would agree that in some cases, rural car ownership isn't sustainable. In the village where I live, it is becoming increasingly common for households to have three, perhaps four, cars - one each for the parents and one each for the adult kids. When there are a few of these households in one street it quickly results parking hell. What alternatives do people have, though? Flexible working means that different family members work at different times of day, and on different days. I'm lucky in that my local bus route is still deemed to be commercially viable six days a week, but if I wish to travel in the evenings, or on a Sunday, I've had it. Try explaining to a line manager in a supermarket that you can't work Sundays because there's no public transport, and you either won't get the job in the first place, or simply be told to take a taxi, with little regard for the fact that a round-trip to town by taxi will set you back at least £35 (nearer £50 if it's "on the meter").
To bring my post vaguely back on topic, self-driving cars may solve some of these issues. It would certainly reduce the numbers of young people who are currently forced to sit their driving tests simply to get to work. If we had them thirty years ago, I know that of a few people who would still be alive today had their lives not been cut short in road accidents.