BusTalk

[MaBSTOA 15]

Traffic on Fifth Avenue and West 45 Street after the transit strike since the beginning of the year and ending on January 5, 1962.

Interesting photo since the first bus is number 3100 the air condition demo on route 5. The second bus is a TDH-5301 with the red destination sign reading 25th Street. Could this be an elusive route 15 using one of the two or three New Looks they had at their disposal?

Notice the rest of the line up is made up of old looks with the exception of the last one.

These are Fifth Avenue Coach buses.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

MaBSTOA 15:

OUTSTANDING photo that indeed brings back VERY happy memories of "Noo Yawk" when Your's Truly was just a lad!

Sobering, though, to think that none of of those classic buses, nor the taxis and autos, exists today.

EXCELLENT PHOTO........thanks for sharing with us!!!!

"NYO"

["FIFTH AVENUE COACH LINES"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

It could well be one of the 5301's assigned to Jackson Heights depot to serve on the #15. The way the "25TH ST" was arranged is part of it. I think that depot may've had 10 (3126-3135) at their disposal. I seem to remember 3111-3125 (at the very least) were assigned to 132d Street. 3136-3160, of course, were assigned amongst three "NYCO Division" depots (100th Street, 146th Street and 54th Street). The mylar roll signs drawn up by Transign for this bunch were differently arranged from the first set of the initial batch (A/C 1-10 and 3101-3110). The first set had S over the T for buses that went to, say, 168th Street. In addition, the first set had the southern terminus abbreviated to 'WASH SQUARE' while on the newer set it was spelt out 'WASHINGTON SQUARE'.

Incidentally, while that strike was on, Mayor Wagner ominously threatened to revoke their franchises unless they and the TWU went back to the bargaining table. When, after Harry Weinberg carried out his hostile takeover of FACL, the union struck on March 1 after his firing of "light duty" employees, Wagner would make good on that threat - leading to the creation of MaBSTOA (and the rest, as they say, is history). The end of this particular strike also led to the elimination of free transfers - a policy that carried on to the early MaBSTOA years, until the 1975 fare increase and the institution of the half-fare "Add-a-Ride" transfer system.