Which South American capital’s TransMilenio bus rapid transit system opened in 2000? It was Bogotá, Colombia.
TransMilenio is Bogotá’s bus rapid transit, or BRT, network. Instead of using conventional buses in mixed traffic, it operates articulated buses on dedicated corridors with enclosed stations and off-board or controlled fare collection. The system was developed as a lower-cost alternative to building a conventional metro network during Bogotá’s late-1990s transport crisis.
Construction began in the late 1990s, and the system was inaugurated on December 4, 2000. Free trial operations began on December 18 with the Caracas and Calle 80 corridors; commercial service began in January 2001. Its early network included 21 stations, establishing the model that later expanded across the capital.
The distractors are other South American capitals with important urban transport systems, but none fits this clue. Santiago has its own bus-and-metro network, Quito operates trolleybus and other BRT-style services, and Lima has the Metropolitano. TransMilenio is specifically associated with Bogotá and remains one of the best-known examples of large-scale BRT.