In many parts of the city located on higher ground than Lower Manhattan, the lights are on and the flood waters have receded. But New York's transportation network is struggling to reconnect the city's business centers with commuters.
Three days after superstorm Sandy struck New York, the city's public transit system, which 31.1% of commuters in the greater metro area utilize daily, is crawling back to life. Matt Flegenheimer and John Leland provide an update on the recovery of the regional transportation system, as New Yorkers seek a return to some modicum of normalcy.
"[W]ith the return of some services on Thursday," write Flegenheimer and Leland, "commuters were hopeful
they would experience less of what they encountered on Wednesday, when
bus rides were free but still unappealing as they grew overstuffed with
passengers and often bypassed waiting commuters, unable to take on more."
"Still, navigating transportation on the streets seemed to require the
most diplomacy and luck as commuters adjusted to new rhythms of supply
and demand...The effects of the storm will take time to unwind, with crawling
traffic, half-mile lines at suburban gas stations and city buses stuffed
beyond capacity."
For constant updates on the status of the region's transportation network, Transportation Nation's Transit Tracker is a great resource.
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