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TUCSON - More people than ever are trading four wheels for two to get to work in Tucson. Some new numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show a 58 percent jump in bike commuters between 2009 and 2010 in Tucson.

Those numbers make Tucson number six in the nation for bike commuters, and city officials say new bike corridors and other newly-finished projects are helping the increase.

"It's really a good feeling that we're on the right track," said Tom Thivener, manager of the city's Bicycle and Pedestrian program.

After nearly a decade of little to no change the number of bike commuters in Tucson is climbing, jumping from 1.9 percent in 2009 to 3 percent in 2010. Thivener credits a combination of road improvements, increased bike advocacy and massive events like Cyclovia for the surge.

"We're right in that pack of other bike-friendly cities like Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Washington, DC," said Thivener.

Another number on the rise shows more women are on the road. They now make up 35 percent of cyclists, compared to 26 percent in 2009.

If the cooler weather is not reason enough to hang up your car keys and brush off your bike, Thivener says more incentives are on the way.

"We've got some bike lane improvements coming up and a lot of little projects," said Thivener. "We're trying to get past some of these barriers like at I-10 where all these bike paths channel into an area that just doesn't have room for bikes."

With budget cuts, Tucson's Bicycle and Pedestrian Program will not have as many resources this year as it did last. Still the city is confident it can get those numbers even higher.

Back in 2000, Tucson was number one in the nation for bike commuting.