Less popular because it’s not feasible for many. I live in MN. Biking 20mi to work when it’s -10F and in 6” of fresh snow on top of the 12” received so far this season just isn’t something that’s safe to do.

Please don’t make it seem like it’s a “popularity” thing; it’s a necessity thing.

Finland is a cold country with similar size and area. For national domestic trips, 55% of people there use cars[1]. For MN i only found stats for MN metro area, but I’d expect public transport to be more developed there. The car usage is still 83%[2].

[1]: https://www.traficom.fi/sites/default/files/media/publicatio... page 6

[2]: https://metropolitan-council.github.io/TBI_Household_Synthes... “Driving remains the predominant mode of travel in the region, representing 83% of trips in 2023.”

I bet the local community plows the roads but not the bike infrastructure, though? I get why, people probably drive more than bike.

But, in Canada, there are local communities that plow bike infrastructure and locals bike in their deep winter.

It's a chicken or egg problem of building infrastructure for users and users demanding infrastructure. It's not some fact of nature that it's impossible. Different communities have different priorities. So, necessity is a bit strong of a word.

Hardly anyone lives in MN - half the poulation of New York City alone.

The vast majority of Americans live in cities. Half live in just 8 metro-areas, just as the vast majority of Europeans live in cities. Europe is far more dispersed though.