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Story highlights

An estimated 5.5 million people ride New York's subway system each day

New York shut down all 468 subway stations for the second time ever for Superstorm Sandy

If it were laid out in a single line, the tracks would extend from Manhattan to Detroit, Michigan

Scientists cite rising sea levels and climate change as contributors to dangerous flooding

New York CNN —

New Yorkers are not especially known for their patience. Stand on a subway escalator’s left side – otherwise known as the passing lane – and it might evoke a sharp reprimand from fellow riders.

But in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, millions across the New York metropolitan region who depend on the nation’s busiest transit system are still waiting for their subway system to be fully restored.

“There is no precedent for this,” said Clifton Hood, author of “722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York.”

Dubbed New York’s “life-blood,” an estimated 5.5 million people ride the city’s subway system each day in the country’s most densely populated region.

Most New York City residents don’t have cars to fall back on. Less than half own cars, according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation, which cites the latest census data on car ownership. That’s a stark contrast with the rest of the nation, where 92% of all households own at least one car.