I think there’s a lack of understanding on just how differently American and European cities are structured. Unless you’re in the Northeast, cities aren’t densely packed. They’re broad and sprawling. This is especially true of mid sized cities. Housing is typically far from businesses. A 10 minute bike ride would barely get me out of the neighborhood, and I’d still have aways to go before a major road.
On the other hand, I biked around campus in college and took the bus system all the time. I didn’t need a car for my day to day.
Public transit is a real challenge for us. There’s no easy answer. Our cities just aren’t structured for it. And I don’t think there’s a public transit model yet that could totally replace cars for us.