my ex wifes friend had two first year high school kids, lived 800m in a straight line with a footpath, to their door, the kids refused to walk and she drove them everyday. They’d literally wait longer then walking home

There are multiple possible issues here. Partly, it very much could just be teenagers being teenagers. Lazy and difficult for the sake of it. And parents should man (or woman) up and just make them walk. Walk with them, if you have to.

Which brings me to the second possibility. Habit. If they're not in the habit of walking places, for example they never walked to primary school and they're being expected to suddenly start walking as of their first day of high school, that's a pretty big leap. Not easy to deal with now, but the parent should have been walking with them more often earlier.

At 800 m, it's unlikely that the infrastructure even could be so bad that I'd find it reasonable to drive, but even for a short distance like that, a nice walk would make it so much more pleasant. Nice wide footpaths where you can walk side-by-side without needing to squeeze up to let someone past. Having priority at minor intersections (made clear via wombat crossings) is ideal, but at least having smooth, wide kerb drops. Nice shade cover. It's a lot easier to get people to walk if the walk is pleasant.