In the Netherlands automatic gear had the image of a tool for people that do not know how to drive a real car. (Maybe that’s why they are so popular in the US (sorry, just kidding 
)). And stick shift cars are way cheaper than automatic ones. I presume that’s the same for most of Europe. So if you have a sit i Europe and the hosts car is available, good chance it will be a stick shift.
It’s changing though. Automatic is getting more popular. I’ve had them a few times and love it. But now I’m driving stick shift again.
People who ride bikes often need to shift gears, so does that mean they know how to drive “real” cars by default vs. folks who only know how to drive automatics?
Personally, I learned on a stick and buy automatics out of convenience, like many folks of my generation. Nowadays, most people learn on automatics and many schools no longer even teach driving, so you have to find your own way to learn.
Manual cars aren’t more expensive to make if you make them at scale. But cars typically are built via factory lines, so if the lines are outfitted toward what most people want, automatics in this case, then yes, exceptions will cost more.
From what I recall when I last had the choice between buying an automatic vs. stick shift, the cost for an automatic was $500 USD to $800 more.
I am well aware of all that. Everything very logical. I just expressed a wish, which isn’t necessarily based on logical thinking.
Still, apart from understanding the logic behind those decisions, I just happen to have my own opinion.
There’s no need to jump from parking meters using cash to apps, a gradual change can be (and they are used in many places) parking machines using credit or debit cards.
I am afraid it’s a bit more complicated than that. I think the will to maximize profitability as fast as possible has a lot to with it. And not all societies look for the good of the many over the few. In fact lots of societies care for the need of the few, too.
Should we abandon the ill, and the needy?
Why spend money on accessibility when the many are perfectly able?
I am sure changes can be introduced gradually so that people can adapt and not be left behind. I do not see life as a race where just the fittest survive.
In the U.S., that already happened, going with credit cards, and now apps. Some places still are in the credit card stage.
Needy and sick aren’t the few — they’re actually large numbers, which is why large expenditures are made for such.
