NYC’s vintage bus festival returns to Brooklyn Bridge Park

The New York Transit Museum is bringing back its vintage bus festival for the 25th year running, and this time, bus-lovers will be able to peek at a variety of the city’s past buses at Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Bridge Plaza, which is located at 11 Water Street.

The one-day-only event will take place on Sunday, Oct. 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is free to the public. The buses on display at Sunday’s festival represent about 80 years of surface transit history in New York City. In addition to walking through the vintage buses, visitors will also get to interact with bus drivers from the city’s existing fleet.

Just some of the buses you’ll be able to get up close with are as follows:

Bus 1263: the oldest at the festival, this enclosed-top model went into service in 1930, and continued to operated until 1953. It was also known as “Betsy,” and was one of 100 Yellow Coach “Z-type” double-decker buses purchased by the Fifth Avenue Company in 1930. The Museum acquired the bus in 2004.

Courtesy of New York Transit Museum

Courtesy of New York Transit Museum

Bus 3100: this prototype was one of the first airconditioned buses to debut nationwide when it was tested in 1956. The General Motors vehicle featured soft wraparound seating in the rear of the bus, a push-type rear exit door, and fluorescent lighting.

Bus 2185: the bus was parked on Church Street, across from the World Trade Center, on 9/11, and was badly damaged by falling debris. Instead of scrapping it, the museum worked with the MTA to restore the bus as a symbol of the city’s resiliency.

In addition to exploring the buses, visitors will also be able to participate in what the museum calls an “education station,” where visitors will be able to build a bus-friendly cityscape.

25th Annual Bus Festival, Sunday Oct. 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Brooklyn Bridge Park, 11 Water Street

Courtesy of New York Transit Museum