I think the article inadvertently put it's finger on the problem without understanding it. It claims that the issue is in part that parents don't find time to ride with their kids.
When I was a kid, riding was something you did with your friends, not your parents. Kids just spend way less time actually hanging out together without some adult organizing the activity. When was the last time you saw a group of kids start a spontaneous game of kick the can or kickball, for example?