MTA UPDATE: Limited Bus Service Back at 5pm Today

The wrath of Hurricane Sandy threw a giant monkey wrench in New York City's public transportation system, with the 108 year-old subway system closed due to massive flooding. Not all the news is bad, however- MTA just announced that limited bus service will be restored today at 5pm, with more service coming tomorrow. Fares will be waived for the time being.

No word yet on a timetable for reopening the subways. MTA spokeswoman Diedre Parker told Reuters: "It's really hard to say which areas will come back first. It will come back gradually."

MTA released the following statement earlier this morning on the state of things:

"The New York City subway system is 108 years old, but it has never faced a disaster as devastating as what we experienced last night. Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on our entire transportation system, in every borough and county of the region. It has brought down trees, ripped out power and inundated tunnels, rail yards and bus depots. As of last night, seven subway tunnels under the East River flooded. Metro-North Railroad lost power from 59th Street to Croton-Harmon on the Hudson Line and to New Haven on the New Haven Line. The Long Island Rail Road evacuated its West Side Yards and suffered flooding in one East River tunnel. The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel is flooded from end to end and the Queens Midtown Tunnel also took on water and was closed. Six bus garages were disabled by high water. We are assessing the extent of the damage and beginning the process of recovery."

The NY subways remain shutdown, and all NJ TRANSIT rail, bus, light rail and Access Link service is suspended until further notice. John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia and Teterboro airports are all closed, the Port Authority said. Stewart International Airport is open. The George Washington Bridge, Goethals Bridge, Bayonne Bridge and Outerbridge Crossing are all closed until further notice. The Holland Tunnel is also closed.

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