From: dannyb@panix.com
In David Samuel Barr
writes:
>On 12/19/2024 12:31 PM, Tommie_O_Hicks wrote:
>> Actually the "toke" referred to in the song is slang for "token" When
>> taken in the context of public transportation which is the locale for
>> the song, the song makes more sense. One toke over the line means you
>> have traveled farther than what you have paid for.
>Um, nope. That's an interesting take on it but that's not what they had
>in mind, even though the chorus has them "sitting in a railway station,
>waiting for the train that goes home, hoping that the train is on time".
>In any event, tokens weren't used on railways, only on subways, buses
>and similar intracity transport, and they just gave admission to the
>system, they didn't determine or regulate how far you could travel.
Actually, until 1980 or so, NYC's subway did have _one_ section
which was extra cost.
The line to the Rockaway section of Queens used to be
a Long Island Rail Road spur. When the subway system
took it over there was some sort of finance arrangemetn
which meant that...
which meant that people entering the stations in Rockaway
had to pay _two_ tokens. And people who had travelled
from outside that zone had to insert a token to exit.
(I have no idea how riders who got on at one of the
Rockaway stops and got out at another handled the issue).
Oh, now that I think about it, there was at least one
bus route (the Q-60 along Queens Blvd in Queens) where
you had to pay an extra dime if you went past a demarc
roughly half way on its route to Manhattan. (The
landmark was the Alexander's department store).
I don't know if there were any other bus routes
with this issue.
--
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Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
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* Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)
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