Public Transit

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Wednesday that his department is providing $13 million to states affected by Hurricane Sandy to help restore transportation systems disrupted by the storm.

LaHood said the money is going to New York and Rhode Island, which he said were the first states to ask DOT for help after Sandy.

"President Obama has directed us to immediately help restore vital transportation infrastructure following this unprecedented and devastating storm — and that’s exactly what we’re doing," LaHood said in a blog post on the Transportation Department's website.

New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has restored partial bus service in the densely populated city that was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy.

Several New York City subway stations remain deluged with water dumped on train tracks and platforms by the storm, but the MTA said it began running buses on a Sunday schedule on Tuesday evening.

The agency has said it is not charging fares for the rides, and it hopes to resume a nearly full weekday schedule by Wednesday.

“Our transportation system has never faced a disaster as devastating as Hurricane Sandy, which has caused an unparalleled level of damage,” MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota said in a statement.  “The challenge that we face now is one of assessment, inspection, repair, and restoration. This will not be a short process, but it will be one that puts safety as its major focus.”

The chairman of the authority that runs the New York City subway said Tuesday that the sprawling transit system experienced more damage during Hurricane Sandy than it had at any other point in its history. 

“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,” New York Metropolitan Transit Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota said in a statement. “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.” 

Lhota said that during the worst of the storm Monday night, seven subway tunnels that run under New York’s East River flooded. He added that commuter rail lines to Long Island and New Haven, Conn., also sustained water damage. 

President Obama warned Monday that transportation systems along the East Coast are going to be “tied up for a long time” during and after Hurricane Sandy.

Public transportation systems in cities like New York and Washington, D.C., were shut down Monday in anticipation of the hurricane, which is predicted to make landfall in New Jersey between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Airlines have canceled flights to Northeastern airports, and Amtrak, along with commuter railways and intercity buses, have shut down in preparation for the storm.

Obama warned Monday that it could take days after hurricane passes for those systems to get back to running at full speed.

“Transportation is going to be tied up for a long time,” Obama said in a White House press briefing. “And probably the most significant impact for a lot of people, in addition to flooding, is going to be getting power back on.

Like everyone else in the capital city, Washington, D.C.'s Metrorail subway system is waiting to know the winner of the race between President Obama and Mitt Romney.

The organization that runs subway trains in the capital, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), is preparing commemorative SmarTrip fare cards for passengers to see the next president take his oath of office outside the Capitol building. 

Washington Nationals fans are celebrating their ability to take a train home from late-running baseball games on Friday, and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) is thanking LivingSocial for pitching in to keep DC Metro running.

Grateful that @livingsocial has pitched in to keep @wmata open for @nationals fans. We're all excited to cheer the Nats on in October!

— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) September 28, 2012

Your morning transportation speed-read:

The Department of Transportation has provided $1.2 million to help build a 9/11 memorial for Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa.

Employees at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport are saying that security searches at the airport are being rushed.

The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) system is allowing alcohol ads on its buses and Lynx light rail system for the first time.

American Airlines is threatening to seek an injunction against its pilots for a work slowdown it blames on their union.

A new fan is stepping up to the plate to pay for late night public transportation for the Washington Nationals baseball team's upcoming playoff games: tech company LivingSocial.

The company, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., said Thursday that it would pay a $29,000 deposit to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to secure an extra hour of service for any games that run late. The announcement broke an impasse that had lasted for weeks between the transit authority, local leaders in the capital region and the baseball team.

LivingSocial CEO Tim O’Shaughnessy said it made sense for his company, which offers discounts to customers via email, to step in to pay for the subway service on D.C.'s Metrorail. 

“LivingSocial is in the business of creating great local experiences, and we want to be sure DC fans can enjoy the city’s first baseball playoffs in 79 years without worrying about how they will get home,” O’Shaughnessy said in a statement released after a news conference at the Metro station nearest to the Nationals' stadium.

Your morning transportation speed-read:

A United Airlines flight from Raleigh to Chicago was turned back because of a disagreement between flight attendants.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is installing charging stations for electric vehicles.

Traffic deaths in New York City are increasing.

Los Angeles, Calif.'s Metrolink commuter railway is adding trains because of the impending "Carmageddon II" highway shutdown.

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) is touting his work on increasing bus safety in a new campaign ad featuring the father of an Ohio teenager who was killed in an accident in 2007.

In the ad, Ohio resident John Betts credits Brown with working with Republicans to pass legislation requiring seatbelts for bus passengers and stronger roofs and windows after a bus carrying his son David's college baseball team crashed in Atlanta.

The accident killed seven people, including David, but Betts said in the ad that Brown had worked since the accident to improve the commercial bus industry. 

"David loved baseball," Betts says in the commercial. "He loved playing it. He loved watching it. He enjoyed every aspect of it. He was with his team on the way to Florida when everything went wrong."