PUBLIC TRANSIT: Hurricane Sandy forces transportation shutdown throughout Northeast

New Jersey Transit and other public transportation agencies throughout the Northeast announced the shut down of services Sunday and Monday in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy’s arrival in the region on Monday. All services are suspended until further notice.

Complete shutdown of all bus, rail and light rail systems was to be completed by 2 a.m. Monday, per orders from NJ Transit and sister agencies in New York and Connecticut. In New York City, all subways, trains and buses in and around Manhattan were closed down as well.

Officials are encouraging residents to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary. Bridge and tunnel closures will be determined on a case-by-case basis by the Port Authority, which will be monitoring wind and flooding conditions at all times.

At the regional level, Amtrak also suspended all service from Boston to Washington on Monday; no timetable was established for resumption of train services.

Airline services were also expected to be grounded, with United and American airlines already doing so on Sunday.