By Philip Newman
The MTA will not refund portions of unlimited MetroCards lost when Hurricane Sandy brought a shutdown of the city’s transit system.
“The MTA plans no refund of subway and bus rides on seven-day and 30-day MetroCards lost during the hurricane,” said Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Aaron Donovan, who did not elaborate.
Another MTA official said trying to refund lost value to the cards involved would be “a logistic nightmare.”
The transit agency shut down all public transit facilities on the evening of Sunday, Oct. 28. The decision also includes holders of the MTA’s commuter railroad lines: Metro-North Railroad and the Long Island Rail Road.
Both bus and subway service were free for two days, as was the LIRR, when partial service was first restored Nov. 1.
Also in transit news:
• Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he had asked for $30 million in federal aid to rebuild and recover from Hurricane Sandy.
• Cuomo said utility companies should consider paying rebates to victims of Hurricane Sandy rather than announcing rate increases.
