I think they are meant for people to believe they do something so they’ll feel better and wait. I used to walk a lot and encounter lots of crosswalk with buttons and I got used to how fast I should go in order to catch green every time and I could predict when the next crosswalk was going to turn green. If they truly worked then they should have been out of sync. I never pushed the buttons and I saw the light turning green even though no one pushed the button, if the buttons worked then why would the light turn green?
I also asked gemini about this and he said I’m not going insane, strange because I never mentioned if I was insane or not, but good to know I’m not.
Maybe some buttons work and other don’t depending on where it is?
For this to consider, you have to know there is a induction loop present in the first place.
While many have a sign beside them, others don’t (e.g. the one of my tale).
Had another unmarked one activating the moving entrance barrier at my former workplace.
First time standing there I got really irritated, as I didn’t find a way to open the barrier for me, until realizing the thing with the induction loop. After that, laying my bike down for a second became my every-morning-ritual before work ;-)