Next Green Thing: Bike-Sharing In The Beltway

Starting in June, residents of Washington, D.C. will have a new, gas-free way of getting around town.

A bicycle rental program called SmartBikeDC will make 120 bicycles available at ten central locations in the city. For a $40 annual membership fee, members will be able to pick up bikes with the swipe of a card.

District officials say it's the first program of its kind in the nation, and hope the program will put a dent in traffic congestion, pollution and parking shortages.

For more on the program, Word of Mouth host Virginia Prescott called up Paul DeMaio, founder of the consulting group MetroBike, which helped implement the D.C. program.