I think public perception is that $150 to $250 should buy a good bike. They go to Walmart or Target to try and get something , and they buy some ridiculous thing with as much suspension as possible and as many "whiz-bang" features thinking they are getting more for their money. Walmart and Target have no interest in repeat bike sales, so they dson't care that the experience is crappy.
The major bike manufacturers have generally stayed out of the sub-$500 range and have been ostracized whenever they went big box. Originally I thought fixies and single speeds were going to make biking accessible, but many of the manufacturers put on the bling and rode the trend into the ground with hipster $500 and up bikes which cost the same as entry level road bikes. Then you look at other accessible bikes like the new Trek Lime, and, again, they are priced too high for the public.