Panhandling, for example, can make people feel unsafe. You can never be sure how a person will react if you say no. It's illegal to panhandle on the subway, but still happens all the time.
I never had these fears, the car I already had was just the easier option, until it broke down. If someone were to consult me about my transit experience (albeit in a very different place) I'd tell them "Ya, sometimes there are panhandlers, sometimes there are super drunk people, but tbh I can't remember any specific examples because they're just random background noise from time to time". Meanwhile there are plenty of times I've almost been killed by cars in relatively mundane situations that I can remember specific examples of, including those I almost caused while driving and making a trivial mistake.
Should people be more concerned about hypothetical discomfort resulting from someone asking for money, or the very predictable consumption of time, energy, money, and every day life altering risk of one wrong move by anyone around them?
The latter doesn't mean I never drive, but for the 2-3 weeks a year I might need one, I just rent it, and then I'm reminded of why I don't want one, but it's nice sometimes.