Busman's Holiday

For a guy who hates commuting I’ve been spending an awful lot of time on buses lately.

As I've mentioned before, I’ve been working from home ever since covid came to town.

While I do miss seeing my colleagues in the real world, I’m also enjoying saving time, money, and energy working from my kitchen rather hauling into town on the X27.

Ironically, my last commute was one of the easiest I’ve ever had: 35-40 minutes on a good day and I always got a seat. And my last office was fantastic.

The place had stunning views of lower Manhattan and New Jersey, a great food court, and tons of fine shops and restaurants. I really enjoyed the location—for the three weeks we were there. But I still prefer working from home.

On Saturday I did a time traveling when I went to the MTA’s Bus Festival in Downtown Brooklyn that represented “more than 90 years of New York City surface transit history.”

The park under the Brooklyn bridge was just a short ride from my home on the ferry, which is my favorite form of commuting.

These buses were stationary, but the experience was a real trip.

People lined up walk through these well-preserved vehicles, which also featured the advertisements from their respective eras.

There were posters for Rockaways Playland, SOS pads, the Bowery Savings Bank, which advised riders to “Save More, Borrow Less,” and an ad from Dial Soap that promised commuters that they’d “Never Worry About Odor Again.”

Even though these buses are museum pieces, I had to this urge to put change in the collection box every time I boarded one of them. But the entire event was free.

One bus from the Seventies featured photos of various bus drivers as part of the Big Wheel Program, which was launched in 1975 to recognize their efforts in moving people from one place to another.

Step to the Rear

That’s where I spotted picture of Solomon Scharf, who was named as November’s Big Wheel because “passengers on his B-70 bus tell us he really cares about them.” Way to go, Sol.

Of course, the irony is that when these old-time buses were on the road, I’m sure New Yorkers of the respective periods grumbled about lousy service and crappy conditions—just like they do today.

But now with the passage of time, they become treasured symbols of a bygone era.

The most popular vehicle by far—and the one with the longest line---was “Betsy” a double-decker bus that dated back to 1931, and the oldest one in the MTA Transit Museum’s vintage fleet.

Unfortunately, Betsy’s upper deck was close to the public to keep her from taking too much abuse, but she was still worth the wait.

People were saying that the MTA did away with double-decker buses, but I have a memory of riding one while working at part-time job when I was a student at Hunter College.

The thing just rolled up on at the bus stop and I couldn’t wait to get on board. It was brand new and just so pleasant; I felt like I was riding in a giant Matchbox toy.

Well, it turns out that I was not delusional—at least not about this.

The MTA did, in fact, purchase eight buses from British company Leyland in 1976 for a pilot program, according to one online article.

The story said the double-deckers experienced mechanical problems and I recall one report that said New York’s pothole-filled streets were too much for the English imports. This was the Seventies, after all.

Their height was also a problem, causing them to bump into branches along Riverside Drive and to run into traffic lights. They were taken off the road two years later.

I spent a good part of the afternoon walking around the area before hopping a ferry for home.

This was the kind of funky, New Yorky type of thing I liked to do before the pandemic, and it was good to out there among people again.

I felt like a really Big Wheel.