[throwaway0a5e]

Poor people in similarly remote (similar travel distances but less circuitous routes) parts of the US and Canada with manage to get to Walamrt and back about once a week in run of the mill 20yo SUVs.

Either there's some economic situation preventing similar transportation solutions working in Europe or the people who say that Europe has great transit options have a lot of explaining to do (frankly I think it's a little of both).

[wheels]

There are a few major differences:

For the most part, American towns are built next to the roads. If there's not a road, there's not a town. (Alaska is a notable exception.) In Europe, said roads and towns often long predate SUVs and wouldn't be passably in such.

Also a number of the countries being mentioned are relatively poor. The GDP per capita of the US is more than 10 times the GDP per capita of Bosnia (and close to 3x that of Portugal). That obviously has an influence on the affordability of vehicles and the quality of infrastructure.

[jimktrains2]

It probably saves a ton of time not having to make that run yourself. Also, often just because something isn't common doesn't mean it isn't possible or doesn't happy; it just means that cultural norms swing one way or another. I'd bet the fish truck is ower-operated (even if the owner is a co-op), for instance, which probably has roots in how things were done for a long time.