2008 marks the five-year anniversary of the demise of the token, phased out forever in May 2003 on trains and in December 2003 for buses. Yeah, the Metrocard is convenient, but it just doesn’t cut it as a city icon, unlike the pentagram-style token shown here. It was the last token ever introduced.
Before 1953, tokens didn’t even exist; they were created when the fare rose to 15 cents and it wasn’t possible for a turnstile to accept both nickels and dimes. Note the turnstiles in this pre-1953 photo, which look awfully easy to jump.
June 20, 2008 at 4:35 pm |
[...] New York, quickly rising on my list of new favorite blogs, remembers the subway token, five years after its [...]
June 24, 2008 at 3:35 am |
Whether we use tokens or not, I still call those booths with the attendants inside “token booths.” I suppose that isn’t the official name now, but I don’t know what else to call them.
Blather From Brooklyn