| Rapid Transit | Surface Transit | ||||
| JFK Express | Sports Specials | Nostalgia Special | Culture Bus Loops I, II, III | Shoppers Bus | |
| Block Tickets | General Order Transfers | A Night On The Town | Night Coach | ||
| Miscellaneous Passes | |||||
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There were many instances in which the New York City Transit Authority issued tickets for special occasions; some one off event and others repetitive. Some were sporting events, and some on these occasions were to garner more revenue during weekdays or late nights. As most of the passenger traffic was during morning or evening rush hours on weekdays, a lot of transit equipment sat idle during the off hour periods. Obviously, this equipment cost money to purchase, as was the employees hired to operate the equipment; so having either sit idle was not financially sensible.
So, the NYCTA operated "specials".
The most widely known of these special tickets was for the JFK Express. This service was heavily advertised on broadcast television and radio. The slogan, which a lot of people remember to this day was "Take the Train To The Plane".
| These tickets were issued by conductors on board of the JFK
Express. This was an express train that operated from Manhattan,
stopping at selected stations in Manhattan and through Queens to
provide service to John F. Kennedy Airport.
Baggage racks were installed in those subway cars assigned to the route. During operation, New York City Transit Police assigned a patrolman to each train for security of the passengers as well as baggage. Usually, the trains were comprised of a three car set, later expanded to a four car set. The JFK Express train was significantly shorter than the standard eight or ten car trains in regular subway service. Service was every 20-24 minutes, departing from 57th Street and Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas), and then once the 21st Street / Queensbridge Station opened at 5am to Midnight. Service from Howard Beach / JFK Airport began at 6am and operated through 1 am. At the initial onset of service, tickets cost $3.50 one way, in addition to the regular transit fare (at that time which was 50 cents), and the cost of the shuttle bus from the Howard Beach - JFK Airport Station (IND Rockaway Line, A and C trains) where the train route ended to the Airport Terminals. The stops for this train are listed at right. | .. | Queens
- IND 63rd Street Line
Manhattan
- IND Sixth Avenue Line |
| JFK Express Ticket Denominations Known | ||
| Employee tickets | On January 1, 1979; employees of the various airlines as well as employees of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who worked at JFK airport; were provided with a discounted book of twenty tickets, sold for $25 ($1.25 per ticket). It is not known if the employee ticket prices rose in conjunction with regular tickets, or what the later discount rates were. | |
| $1.00 | unknown date | |
| $1.50 | unknown date | |
| $3.00 | unknown date | |
| $3.40 | unknown date | |
| $3.50 | unknown date - ca. 1980 | |
| $4.00 | unknown date | |
| $4.25 | unknown date | |
| $5.00 | July 3, 1981, the express fare was raised from $4.00 to $5.00. | |
| $5.10 | unknown date | |
| $5.50 | unknown date | |
| $6.00 | unknown date - ca.1985 | |
| $6.50 ($6.00 tickets redacted) | unknown date | |
| $6.75 | to April 15, 1990, JFK Express service was discontinued | |
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| JFK Employees JFK Express Ticket - 1978 | |
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| $1.00 | |
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| $1.50 | |
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| $3.00 | |
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| $3.50 | |
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| $4.00 | |
| . | |
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| $4.25 | |
| . | |
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| $5.10 the goldenrod printing (top) is Globe the pale cream (bottom) is unknown |
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| $5.50 | |
| . | |
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| $6.00 | |
| .. | |
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| $6.00 redacted, overstamped to $6.50 | |
Unissued books of JFK Tickets in varying denominations are now appearing on the eBay market.
Individual tickets $4.00 to $6.00 for circulated and
punch canceled tickets for older issues below $4.00 denomination, $2.00 to $4.00 for newer issues above $4.00 denomination.
Books; no more than $15.00 per book as these are unissued remainders.
JFK Express JFK Employee Tickets; are somewhat rarer: $15.00 - $20.00 for issued tickets.
Books; no more than $15.00 per book as these are unissued remainders.
Polo Grounds:
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| October 1, 1961 - New York Titans vs. Boston Patriots (American Football League) | |
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| October 15, 1961 - New York Titans vs. San Diego Chargers (American Football League) | |
| . The tickets above were sold for the NY Titans, the AFL football team playing at the Polo Grounds in northern Manhattan. The NY Titans would become the NY Jets when they relocated to Shea Stadium. | |
Aqueduct Racetrack - Thoroughbred Horse Racing
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| 75 cent Special Trains to Aqueduct Racetrack May 15, 1967 | |
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| "Special Aqueduct Special" Subway fare, and clubhouse admission and one free program ticket to Aqueduct Racetrack issued by the New York Racing Association valid to May 21, 1978 | "Special Aqueduct Special" Subway fare, and clubhouse admission and one free program ticket to Aqueduct Racetrack issued by the New York Racing Association valid to May 21, 1978 |
Aqueduct Cash Fare Tickets
rarely encountered; $30.00 - 40.00 in good condition.
Special Aqueduct Special
rarely encountered; $30.00 - 40.00 in good condition.
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| July 17, 1976, and undated - Adult Fare (or Round Trip?) | |
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| July 18 and July 25, 1976 - Child's Fare 4 7/8" x 2 15/16" these seem cut on a table top cutter probably should have been 5x3 | |
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| August 8, 1976 - Adult Fare (Round Trip?) and unissued August 1976 - Adult Fare | |
5" x 3 3/16" | |
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| unissued August 1976 - Childs Fare | |
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| November 11, 1978 - Adult Fare | undated - Childs Fare |
| . | |
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| undated - Adult Fare | |
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| June 10, 1979 6 3/16" x 3" all adult and childs tickets for Nostalgia Special above are common; $3.00 to $5.00 each. | |
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| Nostalgia Special Ticket - Complimentary uncommon, but sporadically encountered - $15.00 to $20.00. | |
Block tickets are issued for unplanned temporary interruptions of service due to fire, flood, derailment, signal problems, or power outages.
This ticket allows a
passenger of whom has already paid their fare, to alight from a subway
train, exit the paid portion of the system and
reenter at another location to take an alternative subway line or bus
instead, without having to pay a second fare..
Good for 48 hours (seldom marked with time). The meaning
of the letter codes is currently unknown - if you know please send me
an email .
| First Unification - 1940-1953 | |
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| "N" December 1940 | "A" prefix serif B March 1950 |
| . . | |
| Second Unification; 1953 to present | |
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| "B" prefix International Ticket - serif B | "E" prefix Elliott Ticket - sans-serif B |
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| ."G" prefix Elliott Ticket - sans-serif G | |
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| date? Globe Ticket - H prefix | ca.1980s Globe Ticket - C prefix |
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| 1994 - 2006 This Block Ticket lists the private bus companies: Command Bus, Green Bus Lines, Jamaica Buses, Queens Surface and Triboro Coach | |
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| 2006 and later: this Block Ticket does not list the private bus companies which have been absorbed in the NYCTA. | |
(on pulp paper); rare - $10.00 to $12.50.
Whereas the Block Tickets above are issued for unplanned temporary interruptions of service, General Order Transfers are issued for planned prolonged outages or rerouting due to construction or reconstruction.
1990's through 2004(?): solid beige, pink, green paper;
2000's: white paper with magenta, lavender, yellow stripes (possibly other
colors as well)
all appear to have unprinted backs.
The Culture Bus Loops I and II operated from May 26, 1973 through September 3, 1984 and on weekends and holidays only. The Culture Bus Loop III operated briefly from August 3, 1974 through September 2, 1974.
The Culture Bus Loops allowed a passenger to disembark and visit museums and places of interest along the route, then reboard a later bus to continue their journey to their next destination pretty much door to door. This allowed passengers greater flexibility than having to walk several blocks to a subway station, make a transfer to adjoining line, et al; then walk back to their next destination..
The following two sided five panel brochure, explains in detail how and when the Culture Bus Loop I and Culture Bus Loop II operated, their routes and the places of interest on each route.
As an added bonus, it also explains the other discounted special services such as the Sunday Half Fare, Add-A-Ride, Shoppers Special, and Nightcoach programs (as shown on this particular page and on others in this website); so without a doubt this brochure was worthy of display.
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| above: back cover | above: front cover | |||
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| 5 panels; 20" x 9 1/8"; undated (but mention of 50 cent fare usage has this brochure fall into the September 2, 1975 - June 27, 1980 date range). | ||||
The Culture Bus Loop I ran in Manhattan, and for the price of $1.00 a Culture Bus ticket was issued to the passenger. This Culture Bus gave the passenger access to dozens of New York City's Museums and Tourist Attractions as listed in the above brochure.
There was also a Culture Bus that operated in Brooklyn. This was known as "Culture Bus II" and ran the route of the B88:
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| 5" x 3 1/8" Culture Bus & Culture Bus II tickets; $15.00 to $20.00 in good condition. Due to the short existence of the Culture Bus III, tickets are worth substantially more: $25.00 - 35.00 |
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There was a third culture bus route, the Culture Bus III. This route was located in north Manhattan and the Bronx. However, this route was extremely short lived, and only operated from August 3, 1974 (some sources erroneously cite Memorial Day weekend - but the NY Times article at right states otherwise) through September 2, 1974 - Labor Day; at which time this special route was discontinued, and never reinstated.
This loop route was designated the Bx56.
To date, tickets for this route remain undocumented.
In an attempt to drum up business during the midday, when bus occupancy is at its least, the NYCTA advertised for and ran "Shoppers Buses." This was a bus that ran a fixed route throughout the Manhattan Shopping District. With the purchase of a ticket, the passenger could get on or off the bus on that route however many times they chose, to do their shopping in an endless number of stores.
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| 5 1/16" x 3 1/8" Shoppers Special Tickets (on cardstock); $15.00 to $20.00 in good condition. |
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Shoppers Special Tickets (on pulp paper); $8.00 to $10.00 in good condition.
Complete books are known.
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| A Night on the Town Bus Ticket (on cardstock); $12.00 to $15.00 in good condition. A Night on the Town Bus Ticket (on pulp paper); $8.00 to $10.00 in good condition. |
2 1/16" x 5 5/8" with 5/8" selvage, pulp paper
uncommon; complete book, $10
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| Midtown Shoppers or Night on the Town Exchange Coupon | |
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| Culture Bus I or Culture Bus II Exchange Coupon | |
Shoppers Bus / A Night on the Town Bus Ticket and Culture Bus Exchange Coupons (on pulp paper); rare - $25.00 to $30.00. | |
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| 3 3/4" x 2 9/16" extremely rare; $50.00 | |
| . . | |
| Special Transit Pass - Harbor Festival 1979 | |
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| 4 7/16" x 2 15/16" extremely rare; $50.00 | |
| . . | |
| Visitors Pass - 1979 | |
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| 4 7/16" x 2 15/16" extremely rare; $50.00 | |
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 | © 2021 - Brighton Beach Express |
| Philip M. Goldstein / George S. Cuhaj | |
| For reuse, additions or corrections, please contact: brghtnbchexp@aol.com |
