Also, 12 minutes drive is a biking distance

My 15 minute car commute would take over an hour with a bicycle, lead me over multiple busy and dangerous country roads, has three mountains with over 20% elevation that I have to pass, and would be incredibly unsafe in the winter even with studded tires.

Don't get me wrong, I actually do take my bicycle when I'm not in a hurry and the weather is right. But it's a huge time sink and doesn't absolve my of my dependency on a car.

The same commute takes 2 hours with public transport btw so that's even worse

And this is in Germany, not north America