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I agree, @skydancer you're falling into that trap of treating the whole country as if it were all like North London. It's a dangerous fallacy.
I made this mistake when I lived in London I made a spur of the moment trip to visit my parents who lived near Cirencester. The closest rail station to that moderate sized town is Kemble, and I arrived a little after 7pm. Much to my surprise, despite their being further trains arriving later on, bus services had already stopped for the day, there were no taxis, the station was unmanned and there wasn't a public telephone. Nor was there any mobile phone reception. My only remaining option was a 4.5 mile walk, with luggage along a busy, fast major road in failing light. Fine for me but hardly an expectation that I would willingly place on anyone else. The alternatives, which would have mitigate that were either to not go or to have previously arranged for my parents to come and collect me, by car.
Laying this claim of immorality is all well and good where facilities, services and infrastructure are abundant but I don't think that castigating people living in the majority of the country is fair. If, for instance, someone lives out in the countryside away from any urban centre then, for the most part, a private vehicle is the only functional option for a lot of necessary actions for daily life. I don't think it's then reasonable that they are demonised for a "filthy habit" as soon as they cross the town line.
I agree absolutely that we need to get clear of our near absolute dependence on private cars. However, for many the challenges that they face are far higher than will be solved by the equivalent of a handful of segregated cycle lanes in Hackney. Until even a minimal functional infrastructure has been provided for everyone then I think you opinion on the morality of the majority is dangerously flawed. Perhaps take a step outside of your rose-tinted London bubble and see what transport challenges are faced by people actually living in towns and rural areas.
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The_Seldom_Killer
Outside of London the infrastructure that was public transport can be near non-existent. Without a car my dear old mum would be pretty much house bound, no way can she ride a bike but she would fall far short of having an assessed mobility need. Her best friend, who is reliant on my mum to get about is a blue badge holder but cannot drive herself. It's not a right for her own a car nor is it a privilege, she could use mini cabs and trains so it's not even a necessity, she chooses to have one though because it provides her with a sense of independence to go where she likes when she likes.