I live in a Rural area in the UK, i have a 20 mile commute to work, and its 6 miles to the nearest city. There is 2 bus services that run though the "town" I live in both run one an hour and take about about an hour to to get anywhere useful.
I would be unable to work, and get around without a car, I live where i do because it was one of the few places i could afforded to buy a house in the area that I live, that was also close enough to where i work.
If they want to get rid of fossil fuel cars, then by 2040 they need to have far longer range than they do now. To me that seems to be far more important than public transport.