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.

Comments Are Temporarily Disabled

Streetsblog is in the process of migrating our commenting system. During this transition, commenting is temporarily unavailable.

Once the migration is complete, you will be able to log back in and will have full access to your comment history. We appreciate your patience and look forward to having you back in the conversation soon.

More from Streetsblog New York City

Mamdani Budget Could Tank Queens Subway Expansion He Once Supported

March 25, 2026

D.C. Advocates Sue To Save Key Bike Lane From Trump

March 25, 2026

New York’s Forgotten 2,000-Mile Bike Network—And What It Can Teach Us Today

March 25, 2026

Wednesday’s Headlines: Working for the Yankee Bus Lane Edition

March 25, 2026

‘Game Changer’: DOT To Add Southbound Bike Lane Through Key Gap in Village

March 24, 2026
See all posts