Skip to content

The 5th Most Influential Streetfilm of All Time

With the 10-year benefit for Streetsblog and Streetfilms coming up on November 14 (get your tickets here!), we are counting down the 12 most influential Streetfilms of all time, as determined by Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Bogotá BRT/Transmilenio

Number of plays: 65,353

Publish date: January 28, 2008

Why is it here? Bus Rapid Transit was still an unfamiliar concept in most American cities when we published this Streetfilm in 2008. With this look at Bogotá’s Transmilenio, we showed the ingredients of fast, convenient, high-capacity BRT: off-board fare collection, center-running bus lanes, stations with level boarding — as well as Bogotá’s feeder bus system and bike parking stations, which extend access to the core BRT routes. While not every component of the Bogotá system translates to the context of American cities, this Streetfilm conveyed to a new audience how much is possible when you fully commit to high-quality BRT.

Fun fact: At one point while filming bus routes from an overhead bridge, a military police officer approached me with a rifle in hand. There were terrorism threats during our visit and the transit system was a potential target. Our guide, Gil Peñalosa, immediately interceded and straightened things out.

The Streetfilms Countdown so far:

#12: Lakewood, Ohio: The Suburb Where Everyone Can Walk to School

#11: Mark Gorton Interviews Enrique Peñalosa

#10: Zurich: Where People Are Welcome and Cars Are Not

#9: Sneckdowns

#8: Complete Streets: It’s About More Than Bike Lanes

#7: Park(ing) Day

#6: NYC Streets Metamorphosis

Photo of Clarence Eckerson Jr.
Clarence Eckerson Jr. is the Director of Video Production for NYCSR's StreetFilms and producer of bikeTV. He loves the color purple, chocolate chip cookies, and enjoys walking, biking, and taking transit. He has never owned a driver's license.

Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.

More from Streetsblog New York City

‘It’s a Great Bike Lane’: King Souvlaki Abandons Astoria Lawsuit Fight

July 22, 2026

Upstate Report: Ithaca Eyes A New Zoning Map That Keeps Its Character

July 22, 2026

Eyes on the Street: Brooklyn Bridge Cyclists Finally Get A Grand Manhattan Gateway

July 22, 2026

Wednesday’s Headlines: Just the Facts Edition

July 22, 2026

Analysis: Through-Running Tease Is The Latest Gloss On Trump’s Penn Station Shell Game

July 21, 2026
See all posts