I don't think you realize how many people who you'd consider "poor" drive a car including in the periphery of urban areas that are theoretically served by good

I don't think you realize how many people who you'd consider "poor" drive a car including in the periphery of urban areas that are theoretically served by good transit but in practice almost every trip at the periphery comes with an additional bus transfer that adds a ton of time and is a huge drag on your employment prospects, for example the I95 area around Boston or the I495 area around DC. If you are starting from scratch a personal car is literally the 3rd thing you seek out (shelter and employment are tied for #1) because of the massive freedom it affords you to be more selective in your choices of shelter and employment letting you "level up" from there. These people who are just on/over the cusp of the transition between those two living standards got kneecapped by inflation (mostly food/fuel initially and then kicked while down by the rent a little later) way harder than the middle class who's got more room to trim fat.