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Half of school children walked or biked to school in 1969, but only 13 percent were doing it in 2009.

Bikeshare in D.C. after the earthquake

Sep 8, 2011 | by Active Trans

After the earthquake two weeks ago in the Eastern U.S., roads were jammed and Metro slowed, but one mode of transportation sparkled: bicycling.

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Photo courtesy of Chicago B-cycle

People who had biked to work had little trouble getting home, and the Capital Bikeshare system recorded 1,236 rides between 2 and 4 p.m.–more than three times the number for the same period the previous day.

Bike Chicago currently runs a bike-share program with 100 bikes available at six stations at tourist areas in downtown Chicago. There's also a bike share program at UIC.

Bike Share programs in the suburbs are popping up at corporate campuses. Allstate, for example, in Northbrook has bikes from George Garner Cyclery for employees to bike from meeting to meeting.

Keep watch for a big boost with bike share programs in Chicago as Active Trans continues to work with the Chicago Department of Transportation identifying options for a large scale bike share program.