Istanbul’s New BRT System in Action from EMBARQ Network on Vimeo.

In the transport world, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a hot topic. Akin to a cross between a bus and a metro, this increasingly popular form of mass transit is fast, efficient, and a fraction of the cost of its better known cousins – metro and rail. As a result, BRT systems are sprouting up all across the globe.

But if you don’t spend your free time reading about the latest and greatest in transportation infrastructure (or haven’t had the chance to use BRT yourself), you might have a hard time picturing exactly how this technology works.

The video above does a great job of illustrating BRT in action. The clip, taken by EMBARQ’s Dario Hidalgo, offers a drivers-eye view of Istanbul’s new BRT system, known as Metrobüs. The video clearly shows some of the key features of BRT: special lanes reserved exclusively for buses, high speed travel along normally gridlocked traffic corridors, and high capacity bus stations, instead of traditional bus stops.

Check back for more “Sustainable Transportation 101” on thecityfix.com in the near future.