A festival that is perfect for history and transit enthusiasts is returning this summer.
The New York Transit Museum Bus Festival, which features vintages buses and surface vehicles, will take place June 10 at the Emily Warren Roebling Plaza in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
The event, which is completely free and will take place rain or shine, will allow visitors to explore buses from a vintage fleet, representing more than 90 years of Big Apple transit history. The festival will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the last entrance time being 3:30 p.m.
What vehicles will guests get to experience in the festival? There are a number of vintage buses that will be on site, according to the museum. Among them will be:
- Among the vintage fleet guests will be able to board the oldest bus in the museum's fleet: "Betsy", a double-decker bus from 1931. "Betsy" or Bus 1263, was part of Fifth Avenue Coach's "1200 series." The 1200-series buses were among the last front-engine, double-deck buses constructed by Yellow Coach. In 1936, the company introduced a new rear-engine design. However, Bus No. 1263 remained in service until 1947. Fifth Avenue Coach ended all double decker operations in 1953.
- Another bus in the fleet has a connection to a classic sitcom that aired during the golden age of television. Bus Number 2969 (1948), which was designed exclusively for New York City, was one of the first 40-foot transit buses. It has a double-width front door to expedite passenger loading and unloading. It is also known as the “Jackie Gleason Bus,” since it was renumbered to match the bus that the comedian was photographed in as his character in the 1950s series “The Honeymooners.”
- The one-time ubiquitous white and blue MTA buses with the curved windshields that ran across the city from 1979 until 2019 will also be a part of the festival. How prevalent were these buses? At one point they ran on nearly every route (to the tune of nearly 5,000 being on the streets) until they were retired. Bus #5249, from 1979, was one of the last Diesel buses in the MTA fleet and the last RTS bus built for the MTA.
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