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The Bowery Boys episode 475, subway tokens, metro cards, and other old fair.

Hey, it's the Bowery Boys.

Hey.

Hi there. Welcome to the Bowery Boys. This is Greg Young.

And this is Tom Myers. And Greg, remember tokens?

Those cute little pieces of metal that would jingle around in your pocket?

Of course. I loved tokens. Remember waiting in line for the teller at the booth to sell you one token or actually a little bag of 10 tokens?

Sweet memories. And soon New Yorkers will be waxing nostalgic as well about metro cards,

as they will no longer be sold after the end of this year, 2025. Who would have thought we'd get so nostalgic about a little plastic card?

But this is where we are in the world, folks.

Everything is nostalgia.

But today we have a show that's not just about mass transit, but very specifically about

what people used to pay to take the subway or the bus or the streetcar.

And how exactly they paid as well?

Did they use, you know, nickels and dimes or get tickets or with one of those oft-romanticized subway tokens?

And of course, the Metro card, which New Yorkers have been using since the mid-1990s.

And it is just weird. It's hard to believe that come January, you just won't even be able to buy one.

So I guess buy your collectible Metro Card now.

I smell a Christmas present opportunity.

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