New York Transit Museum 2025 Bus Festival

The New York Transit Museum, in collaboration with the MTA New York City Transit, will hold the 2025 Bus Festival at Brooklyn Bridge Park on September 21. This annual event takes place at Emily Warren Roebling Plaza and runs from 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Attendance is free, and the event will occur regardless of weather conditions.

The festival offers the public an opportunity to view and explore historic buses from New York City’s fleet. The lineup includes memorable vehicles such as “Betsy,” a 1931 double-decker bus used until 1953; Bus 3100, a 1956 prototype that introduced air-conditioning and innovative features like push-type doors and wrap-around seating; Bus 4727 from 1969, chosen for its hill-climbing capabilities in the Bronx; and Bus 5227, part of the General Motors “New Look” series, which served until 1995 and was distinguished by its absence of wheelchair lifts.

Visitors can participate in activities such as a scavenger hunt related to the buses on display, designed to engage participants in learning about transit history. Special guest vehicles will also be present, although their identities may vary. In addition, a temporary museum store will offer items relevant to local transit history, including models, books, and apparel. The festival serves as a means to educate attendees about the evolution of surface transit in New York City and the importance of public transportation in urban development.

The New York Transit Museum is recognized as the largest urban public transportation museum in the United States and dedicates its exhibitions and programs to the history and impact of public transit in the New York metropolitan area.