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After a hugely successful summer bike walk week in June—with a 30% increase in participation—organizers are happy to announce an autumn edition—October 2-10, 2010. The fall is a great time to be out on foot and on bicycle. As cooler, shorter days approach, one goal of the autumn week is to highlight options and safety for getting around in a multi-modal way—via bicycling, walking, transit, and ridesharing.

The center piece of the week will focus on schools, with Bike Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 6, in conjunction with International Walk to School Day. The Twin Cities has many active Safe Routes to School programs that focus all school-year on giving kids and families options for safely getting to school without driving the car. Bike Walk to School Day will feature these schools—and encourage others to try walking, bicycling, and transit on that day.

The week also includes “Share the Ride Day” on Thursday—featuring Nice Ride bike sharing, HOURCAR car sharing, and Metro Transit’s rideshare.. The week will also put a focus on bicycling and walking to worship, on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, October 8-10.

All the activities of Bike Walk Week are meant to highlight the advantages of getting around in a multi-modal way—from better health and cleaner air to a fatter wallet. For instance, families can save $5,000-$10,000 per year by reducing the number of cars in their driveways. According to Bundle data, a web site that aggregates household data, “the average household spent $5,477 on gas and auto expenses last year. . . . That’s more than we spend on groceries or utilities, and more than we spend on travel, entertainment, clothes and shoes, and hobbies — combined.” And the American Public Transit Association reports that “riding public transit saves individuals $9,293 annually.”