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More D.C. residents are trading in their four wheels for two, under a new program that's cruising the streets.

For some D.C. residents getting from point a to point b can cost time and money. Twenty-five years ago, Mark Winstead traded four wheels for two and he's never turned back. 

"Oh, it's the only way to get around here, period. End of story," he said.

Now the bike program with the D.C. Department of Transportation (web|news) is working to make sure pedestrians, motorists, and metro riders have the same option. 

"SmartBike D.C. is almost like, Zipcar for bikes."

For $40 a year, anyone can register for SmartBike D.C. online. Then head to any one of the ten locations throughout the city, swipe your SmartBike card, and a computer screen tells you which bike to pick up. After a few hours of going where you need to go, return the bike to any SmartBike location.

Click Below for  Downtown D.C. Bike Map

Other bike sharing programs like SmartBike D.C. have been considered successful in European cities like Paris and Barcelona. Other U.S. cities have tried more low-tech versions, but bikes have sometimes been stolen. Officials said the system is equipped to avoid those issues.

Click Below for  Entire D.C.Area Bike Map

For people unfamiliar with biking in the city, SmartBike D.C. will offer education and training classes to help refresh them on riding a bike. The city does have plans to eventually expand the program to additional locations throughout D.C. 

For more information, log on to:
www.smartbikedc.com

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