A lack of physical exertion is a large cause of obesity and depression. Human innovation tends towards us making our lives easier (so: less physical exercise). Quite the dilemma!
And some people are physically impaired and cannot walk or bike. The able world would love to forget about them or force them into 3 hour long bus routes, but besides that being incredibly unfair, it's just not necessary if there is alternative transportation.
I’ve actually seen some really impressive scooters that take care of this actually.
The issue I’ve seen (can only speak for a large city in the US) is still accessibility. Like entrances, finding elevators, ramps, etc. especially in older buildings.
For the record I got to experience this first hand when I hung out with an old colleague who was injured in a car crash. And this was at the DC convention center, a relatively new building. Finding elevators and navigating around took way longer, especially when you were lost. But I will say that it was amazing how everyone around him was willing to help in any way they could.
Yeah in Finland you see people in effectively single-seat L-class vehicles all the time. It's the vehicle they use to get around, but that's an exception that should probably be left to them. There's far too many bent road signs around here because of the myriad of road safety issues these things pose. In the US, they don't drive golf carts on roads, and in the EU you sometimes start to get why.
My folks run into similar issues with small children in strollers, and I myself run into similar issues with moving lots of stuff (or really big stuff) with a hand truck. The curb-cut effect is real, people!