Transmilenio is the rapid transit system in Bogota that was built about ten years ago as a substitute for a Metro. It looks and feels like a Metro train, however, and is one of the best things about getting around in the city. Before Transmilenio, apparently, life was hell.
There are a couple Transmilenio routes at present (and more to come, supposedly), but the only one I ever use is the one that runs basically along the Autopista from the north end of town to the center (it goes further south than that, but I have not yet been south of El Centro). The bus lanes are in the middle of the highway, and separated from the car lanes by barriers, so that the buses NEVER have to stop for traffic, though they do have to stop at lights. Transmilenio stations are also in the middle of the highway, and made to look like subway stations. You access them through bridges and walkways that usually take you up and over the highway. Once you have a card, you swipe it to enter a station and from there on can go anywhere in the system you choose until you exit a station.? This is good, since the first few times I rode it I ended up in the wrong place, and could backtrack and correct myself without exiting and paying again.
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