Grist has a really good article on DC’s popular new(ish) bikeshare program, arguing that a “bikeshare system can make fundamental change happen in a city.” Also see this article: “The Real Reason Why Bicycles Are the Key to Better Cities.”
I used Capital Bikeshare for the first time the other day and thought it was great. Over the last 3-and-a-half years I’ve typically walked to work, but our new place is a bit farther from my office, requiring about a 45-minute jaunt. Using the bikeshare though, I can hop on a bike at a station one block from our house and be at work in under half an hour. I hadn’t been on a bike in nearly 10 years and had forgotten how much fun it is.