not sure if fake, but i think some people are just wired this way.
i was waiting for a tram next to a lady for 10 minutes the other day. we both got on, and she got off at the next stop, literally a 2 minute walk away. she was young, looked fit enough, just didn't even occur to her to walk. she was hard-coded to take that tram and get off at the appropriate stop.
i get similarly confused by people who wait at pedestrian crossings when there are no cars.