I live in a major metropolitan area and frequently travel to many others; I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually used Apple Pay. And two of them were at an Apple Store. Where are all these vendors with Apple Pay?
Are you in the US? In the UK Apple Pay works anywhere contactless debit/credit cards work, and banks have been pushing contactless for years now. It's very rare not to see a contactless card machine at a shop here. In London the whole Oyster system is contactless too - so tube, buses etc., and other places are starting to get it for public transport too.
It's much more common not to be able to pay with it because of the £30 limit (again inherited from contactless) than because it's not available.
