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Bicycle racks were first installed on Houston's buses in 2007, but Metro says it's now seeing a dramatic increase in the number of commuters who use those racks. 

The agency says "bike boardings" are now up 50 percent over this time last year.  Metro's Margaret O'Brien-Molina says over 15,000 riders used the service last month alone. 

"Say they may have a mile, two miles to go, like in between their home and where they could pick up public transit. And then they'll go on the rest of the way on the bus to wherever their ultimate destination is."

O'Brien-Molina says as freeways grow more crowded, an increasing number of Houstonians are seeing bus and bike commuting as an alternative. Commuters can also bring their bikes aboard light rail trains but only during non-peak hours.