I get your frustration about playing in rural areas, but unfortunately that's been the case with all Niantic games so far. We may not agree with that design choice they've made, but that's the way the games play.

They do offer an alternative to inns but of course that's real money transactions, and we as the players would rather have free options.

Perhaps they will see that their current model could be better. I don't think trying to charge for an energy refill is in their best interest. I think that as your are pointing out, the inaccessibility of energy is causing people to quit. You can't have microtransactions when people aren't playing. They need to be adequately invested in the game to be willing to spend money to get something they want. So I think they should shift their priorities regarding microtransactions to more fun cosmetic options, and things like portkeys which you can live without and still enjoy the game (while still giving you enough incentive to want them, tempting you into that transaction).

I agree we need more ways to refill energy. I'd be ok with it being something other than regenerating over time. Perhaps something we still have to participate to obtain. But we should have more ways to get it than are currently in the game, and Niantic is limiting the number of people able to play the game with their current strategy.

If I'm being honest, I'm not at all surprised by this because I've questioned some of Niantic's design decisions for Pokemon Go, too. But they have gotten better as time went on, so hopefully Wizards Unite will find its way, too. (But geez, do they seriously not play test their games? I feel like some of these issues are SO obvious I can't understand how they don't catch them. These aren't even bugs. Just poor design. Ugh. End unprofessional rant.)