- December 16, 1973 to November 8, 1975: Valid from 6 AM Sunday to 1 AM Monday
- September 6, 1975 to May 17, 1980: Valid from 6 PM Saturday to 1 AM Monday
- Weekday Holidays and times as listed
These tickets were issued during the “gas crunch” or oil crisis taking place in October 1973 through 1974, when OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) embargoed oil exports to the United States in response to the US support for Israel in the Egypt / Israel Yom Kippur War.
When the program was first rolled out, this was to encourage New York City residents to use mass transit instead of automobiles on Sundays to conserve gasoline.
The Half Fare Sunday program met with such positive acceptance, that it
was continued even after gasoline supplies returned to normal. It
underwent expansion to included Saturdays as well; on September 6,
1975; and went on to include Federal holidays: President's Day,
Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Eve/Day, even if
it did not fall on a Saturday or Sunday, which is why you will see half
fare tickets marked for Monday & Tuesday; Wednesday through Friday,
and other weekday combinations depending on which days the holiday
'fell'.
Sunday Half Fare Tickets were issued upon payment
of full fare (when rolled out, this was 35 cents for initial first
trip,
with passenger receiving a free return trip coupon a ticket from clerk.
This allowed the passenger and entire round trip at half fare.
Unlike the Half Fare for Seniors program, the Half Fare Sunday program was for rapid transit lines only (subways and elevateds); and it did not include surface routes (buses), of which those remained full fare.
Ironically, the Half Fare Sunday program was still active when the second oil crisis hit in 1979 due to the Iranian Revolution. While not the result of a total embargo; oil production from Iran was reduced as a result of their revolution, resulting in a steep rise (exceeding double) in crude oil prices and once again leading to increased popularity with the weekend half fare program.
Despite this, the program was abolished in May 1980 with the last weekend of issue being May 17 and 18.There are three sizes and styles associated with issues:
| December 16, 1973 to February 10, 1974 | plain bond paper; pink, green, blue and white bond paper | Elliott Ticket |
| February 17, 1974 to April 14, 1974 | security watermarked bond paper; lavender, terra-cotta, pink, goldenrod, green | Globe Ticket |
| April 21, 1974 to May 17, 1980 | pulp
paper undyed/unbleached; colored stripe on right end: yellow, purple, gray, aqua green, lavender or orange | Globe Ticket |
| 1973 - bond paper - Elliott Ticket dash perforation | |
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| . . 1974 | |
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| bond paper; 6" (w/ 11/16" selvage) x 1 15/16" Elliott Ticket . . | |
| 1974 - bond paper, switch to security underprint - Globe Ticket dash perforation | |
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| 1974 - switch to pulp paper, with dye strip on right edge all subsequent issues from this point, the length of these ticket varies substantially, however the width remains at a constant 2 to 2 1/16" dash perforation | |
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| Globe Ticket | |
| 1975 | |
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| change in time - 6:00 pm Saturday to 1:00 am Monday | |
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 6:00 pm Wednesday to 1:00 am Friday - Thanksgiving |  |
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 December 25 to December 26 - Christmas |  |
| 1976 | |
 January 1 - 6:00 am to January 2 - 1:00 am; New Years |  |
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 6:00 am Monday to 1:00 am Tuesday; Presidents Day |  |
 February 29 - Leap Year Day |  |
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 Memorial Day |  |
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Notch perforation instituted | |
 Labor Day | |
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| 1977 | |
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 Monday to Tuesday - Memorial Day |  |
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| July 4th - Monday to Tuesday | |
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| . 1978 | |
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| 1979 - 1980 | |
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| 5" (w/o selvage) x 2 1/32" Globe Ticket . . | |
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| 5 3/8" (w/o selvage) x 2 1/6" Globe Ticket | |
All
NYCTA Half Fare Sunday tickets easily available. $1.50 to $2.00 per
ticket. Premium for first and last weekend of service: $5.00 for each.
Intact books are frequently seen and plentiful. Not worth sum of tickets.
Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority
| 1973 - bond paper - Elliott Ticket | |
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| 1974 - bond paper, switch to security print - Globe Ticket | |
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| 1974 - switch to pulp paper, with dye strip on right edge | |
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NYCTA
/ MaBSTOA Half Fare Sunday tickets not as common as NYCTA only are.
$2.50 to $3.00 per ticket. Premium for first and last weekend of
service: $5.00 for each.
Intact books not frequently seen and still not worth sum of tickets.
