We should improve public transit and urban design so that walkable places aren't in such short supply.

A bike costs less than $500 once and reliably gets you several miles fairly quickly. eBikes get you further faster and are also a fraction of the cost to own/ operate than a car.

And in the winter you're cold, in the summer you're sweaty, and in the rain you're wet.

It's not like people buy cars because they want to waste money. A car is an absolutely massive increase in QOL, especially for the majority of Americans who dont live in city centers and who don't want to live in city centers.

> A car is an absolutely massive increase in QOL

When you build cities which requires cars to get around then owning a car is almost essential. When a city is built around other forms of transportation, not so much. All the insurmountable problems like rain and sun happen in the places where bikes are common, it turns out people are just fine without their cars when the infrastructure is good enough.

The big problem with car friendly infrastructure is it takes up so much space, it makes almost every other form of transportation more dangerous and slower.

.... or have a functional mass transit network so that they don't have to live downtown.

Support a landlord near you!

(Just kidding, you can't afford to. Enjoy your hike! Maybe in 30 years they'll get public transit working where you need it. You'll promptly get priced right out again, but at least you'll know your taxes went to a good cause!)