lol, you pretty much nailed it. density - or more properly weighted density, is really the only thing that makes cycling and mass transit cost effective and efficient. outside of a handful of places our policies have long favored sprawl over anything else and many if not most communities are openly hostile to higher density housing.

so, really, in the united states the only thing to do is vote with your housing dollars. many people do this, which is why housing in denser, more walkable, less auto-centric places tends to cost a lot, lot more. supply and demand is a byotch! this relationship is balancing a bit post pandemic, with prices going up much faster in the suburbs (at least until the remote work thing is truly and fully dead), so perhaps we'll see a little more progress. but overall the situation is bleak for anyone who wants a future where most americans don't drive most everywhere they go.

also, specifically to the e-bike thing, if traditional cyclists in general weren't so polarized by them there would be more of them ... although i don't think most people give a hoot what "cyclists" think