And if there is no viable alternative for then to turn to they will not change their minds.

Policy like this isn't meant to impact everyone the same way.

If a city has public transit, they likely have coverage targets. Every city does this differently, but in most cities, the majority of people are targetted to be covered.

This means that if more people start using the system who are covered, it's more likely the system itself will be expanded to cover more places.

But you're all missing the 2nd incentive, this could also incentivise people to move to places near transit and could encourage higher density buildings near better transit.

Both of those are things you want, and both of them are things the carbon pricing helps do.