It is strange. Cycling has the greatest advantages in congested areas. You aren't caught in long lines of stopped cars, you can park while others cannot, and in a pinch you can walk along an otherwise impassible stretch. You would think it would be in precisely such areas that cycling would catch on the most.
But congestion makes the exaggerated fear of traffic most intense, discouraging many people from trying. (Even in Manhattan, in which many people have caught on to cycling, far fewer people brave traffic than could practically do.)
The funniest bit in the article is the mention of busses, as if anyone who has a choice is going to use them. Can you imagine anything worse than sitting in traffic jams on a bus?