The MTA has said that it is still too early to tell what Hurricane Sandy will cost them, but the numbers undoubtedly get higher and higher everyday.

After 2011’s Hurricane Irene, the MTA filed a reimbursement claim of $65 million to FEMA and insurers. Irene hit the city on a Saturday night, and subways were back up and running in time for rush hour the following Monday morning.

Subways were shut down this past Sunday evening in anticipation of Sandy’s approach, and were offline until early Thursday morning.

MTA Chairman Joseph J. Lhota had said on Wednesday that the MTA loses $18 million per day in revenue by not running trains.

A spokesperson at the MTA said that even though the trains are running again, that figure would hold true while they’re not collecting fares, which they’ve promised to continue through Friday, since Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a transportation state of emergency, authorizing the MTA to waive all fares on subways, buses, and commuter rails.

On Thursday afternoon, Senator Schumer announced that FEMA has agreed to reimburse New York City and New York State 100% for the cost of emergency transportation.

What about repairs?

On Wednesday, Lhota cited the overtime union workers are having to work as an unknown factor is tallying up the cost of the disaster relief and repair efforts.

Yesterday, the MTA told Metro that labor is indeed a factor, “and obviously what it’s going to cost to repair equipment.”

Governor Cuomo, Mayor Bloomberg, and Chairman Lhota have all commended volunteers from around the country, as far as California, according to Mayor Bloomberg, who have come to New York to lend a hand in various repairs. The Army Corps of Engineers has donated their equipment and services at the South Ferry station and the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, where Governor Cuomo has enlisted their expertise in pumping out floodwaters as quickly as possible.

Lhota had expressed hope on Wednesday that Thursday’s limited subway service could increase on Friday, but the MTA told Metro that there is definitely no chance of extending the current running lines until power is returned to Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn.