Not everyone lives close to the shops, but a vast, vast majority of the population does. Most people could catch the bus to work. Again, not everyone, but a vast majority. It's just that most people aren't prepared to sacrifice the time. OK, that's their prerogative, but it's a bit rich for them to moan about how expensive petrol is when they could completely avoid the issue by not driving everywhere.
Driving, and the ability to get to places quickly, is not a right. It's a privilege we've enjoyed at the expense of the environment for far too long. What we need to do now is make the necessary changes to make life easier after private transport. This means a more efficient public transport system, better planning laws, and a significant focus on high density living to make the switch to public transport easier.
It's a complex combination of failures. The people have failed to take any responsibility for the environment, the government has failed to improve transport and city structure and the entire political system has failed because we have only two political options for which to vote, and neither of them cares about long term planning.