Netherlands has crazy population density. The whole country is like a big city. Also I remember using a tram in Netherlands in the 2010s I don't know if they really got rid of them.

Anyway buses have a lot of advantages in rural areas. They respond better to a variable demand, they need less infrastructure, you can change routes all you want, you can get rotatory routes without going broke with the infrastructure. A tram would most likely need a bigger population density to be justified. Even then. Modern buses are quite good. Don't get me wrong I love a smooth tram travel and the looks of it, but it is more expensive than a bus. Here buses are 100% accessible for all people, flat floors, and automatic ramps for people with mobility issues.

I've always have been advocating for car reduction. Since forever, I've not changed my ming here. And precisely it's really hard to make people understand that we could achieve better living standards and that they will still be able to use a car when needed when there's people around telling them that they will not be allowed to use a car at all. It makes the struggle for traffic reduction harder.

I think selling the idea of, "you can have a car but we are going to make it so you will only need to use it a couple times a month, because you won't need it more" is way friendlier then "we are going to take away your car".

Also we are talking about countries with massive urban population. In a world context many countries could not adopt this model because they can be 80% rural or more.