Apparently the Boardmembers of the Metropolitan Transit Authority were pissed when nearly everyone demanded they stop giving free E-Z passes to themselves and their families (who aren't supposed to be paid in any way for their positions). It has been a couple months since Cuomo threatened them with a lawsuit before they relented, but now the MTA is getting its revenge on the city by revoking their free E-Z Passes for Police, Fire, Emergency units and other city vehicles.
From NY1:
The full Metropolitan Transportation Authority board voted Wednesday to revoke free E-ZPass tags for city employees – a perk which has been offered for decades.The board barely passed the measure, 7-6.
The MTA's finance committee narrowly approved a plan earlier this week, which requires police, fire, and other agencies to get their own pre-paid E-ZPass accounts, just like other drivers.
For the last 50 years, the MTA has allowed other government agencies to pass through the tolls free of charge.
The MTA is facing a $900 million deficit, and officials say this will generate about $10 million a year. The deficit could also lead to cuts in subway, bus, and commuter rail service.
Not too surprisingly, the city is making a big stink about it and is outraged that the MTA would impede on officials that protect the public. Of course the mayor's staff forgets to mention the $100 million less the city is giving to the MTA for capital projects, but that doesn't mean Bloomberg won't make someone have a fit over it for him.
The sad thing is that while the two bicker over $10 million a year the real problem is that our country does not help finance mass transit in the manner it should. Imagine taking just a tenth of what we spend on the war disaster in Iraq and devoting it to rail and clean-energy buses. Then this $10 million would be meaningless and these officials could quit blustering and get back to business.
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