> a daily trip to the store more than suffices.
You want people to go to the grocery store every day instead of every week?
Every single day might be a bit much, but if I'm bringing home food for 3 people * 3 days, a bike is absolutely fine.
People living in US cities? They can't because American cities are designed explicitly to be hostile to humans.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KPUlgSRn6e0
In my case I didn't go by bike, I walked to the local grocery store 500m or so from home.
You'd just pop in on your way home from work or from whatever you'd be doing in town.
5 minutes in a small grocery store, back home with a bag weighting max 10kg, usually 2-5.
This is close to impossible in many places.
Big business killed small living.
It takes me a few minutes on the way home from whatever I'm doing. Less work than getting into a car and driving 15 minutes somewhere once a week. Plus everything is fresh, we only buy what we need and basically throw away zero food.
Cities can be organised differently, including in ways that facilitate more responsible life choices.
Everything else can be shipped, albeit for higher fees.
For groceries, you do need to have one within a reasonable distance, but a daily trip to the store more than suffices. You waste less, too. Since such a thing became locally available to us I have made almost no trips to the grocery store by car - those I have have been for specialty shops at longer distance, or the rare case of being tired/lazy/already out.
Transportation of large heavy packages and inclement weather are two areas there are no standard solutions, however there are enclosed designs, tricycles, and e-bikes - a small heating apparatus is all that's necessary to hold back e.g. the cold.
I think the point does stand, in that no its not "needed". It's mainly just a giant PITA when a bunch of unsafe half ton steel death traps are the "norm". The long distances between shops are also a function of the car.
On the flip side, no I don't think ride-share should be the only option, but a lot of people would fare much better without a car payment they don't really want or need.