That would have been impossible, Davey said, because many roads remained too blocked with cars to accommodate buses — the same reason many schools remain closed Monday.

“Secondary roads in some communities are still in tough shape,” Davey said. “Much of our bus fleet goes over those secondary roads.”

Although highways received another treatment of salt Sunday night, Davey warned that many roads remained perilous, and he urged commuters to take it slow Monday. Travel in breakdown lanes during rush hour will be prohibited on Interstate 95 and Route 3, and some lanes may be narrowed because of the snow.

Hospitals had prepared for the T to shut down during the storm, but were concerned about the possibility of no public transportation till Monday.

And at Massachusetts General Hospital, where up to 60 percent of employees on some units depend on public transportation, some chief residents with four-wheel-drive vehicles were shuttling employees to the hospital, said Dr. Paul Biddinger, medical director for the emergency department.

“I think everybody understands that during the height of the storm, it made sense to shut the T down,” said John Erwin, executive director of the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals, which represents 14 hospitals in the region.

But by Sunday, some employees were heading into their third day at the hospital. And cabs, in high demand across the city in large part because public transportation was unavailable, were hard to find for patients who needed to get home.

“You don’t need to wait until the entire system is up and running,” Erwin said. “If you can phase it in, anything can help.”

Even people who didn’t need the T to get to work were happy to be able to get around. Just after­ 2 p.m., people began trickling in to the JFK/UMass Station. For some, it was the first time they had ventured out of their homes since the storm hit.

“Oh my god, I would have went crazy if I’d been stuck in there any longer,” said Casey Lebbossiere, 15, who was on her way to meet friends at Neponset Circle for sledding. “It was so bad; I’ve never been stuck in my house before so long in my life.”

Igor and Alison Baldyga were happy to be able to head to TD Garden to watch the Celtics Sunday, where a parking ban prevented fans from driving. Enjoying beers at The Fours before the game, the couple had taken a cab from their home in Brighton to the Kenmore Green Line stop to get to North Station.