I don't think it's about "punishing" drivers, it's just that infrastructure costs money and, TBH, the "vignette" is extremely cheap (to say the least) when compared with what you pay for highways e.g. in neighbouring France and Italy.

As for public transport, I don't have the same experience (I do have a car but use it quite often), I only felt like a "sardine" in rare occasions. There are buses/trams/trains often enough to avoid the busiest "rush hour" trips.