Today in stories-to-get-your-blood-boiling: according to a new audit, the NJ Turnpike has wasted more than $43 million on unnecessary bonuses and perks for employees, even as it has raised toll prices for commuters. Wouldn't that money be better used going toward getting the Hudson Tunnel project back up, or wooing Carmelo Anthony, or making the Jersey Shore go away forever? more ›

An FBI agent was awarded $95,000 in a settlement for a federal lawsuit over a gun-toting toll booth clerk. The case started in 2008 when Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority officer Daniel Bell refused to take crumpled $1 bills as a toll payment. "Dude, you can't come up here with folded money and give it to me," Bell told agent Wilfred Rattigan. The argument escalated and ended with Rattigan filing a complaint after guns were pulled on both sides. Rattigan's lawyer told the Post, "This case will send a message to officers in the TBTA that they must act responsibly and respectfully toward the customers they serve." Even if it means tediously unfolding dollar bills. more ›

The far-reaching MTA service cuts approved yesterday are just the tip of the iceberg, according to Mayor Bloomberg. Reducing service, eliminating the W and V trains, and cutting dozens of bus routes will help the MTA close about half of its $750 million budget shortfall—meaning the agency will need to make $400 million of additional cuts by the end of the year. "This is just the beginning," Bloomberg told the Post. "The next round I would think would be much worse ... So save your anger for the next round. Just say thank you that it isn't any worse with this one." more ›

It's almost like state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. is trying to piss people off. Less than a year after he helped kill the plan for East River bridge tolls and claimed the idea was "fundamentally wrong," the Democratic majority leader says he would like to revive East River Bridge tolls as a way to generate revenue for the cash-strapped MTA. more ›

Toll collectors on the New Jersey Turnpike were the subject of 550 letters of complaint in 2008 and 2009, including one from a woman who was told she'd have to be cuffed and strip searched after getting in the wrong lane and another driver who was told to "get on the road and die" by an attendant after attempting to pay his toll with a $20. Numerous collectors allegedly preferred a silent attack: spitting on their fingers before handing back change. more ›

As the Metropolitan Transportation Authority considers far-reaching service cuts that could eliminate free Metrocards for students and nix entire subway lines, the MTA's chairman unveiled a series of agency-wide goals intended to make commuting easier. MTA Chair Jay Walder said the city's public transit needs a "top-to-bottom overhaul" because "many service improvements are long overdue and ... customers are tired of hearing excuses." more ›

About two dozen toll-tally fed up Staten Islanders disrupted traffic at the Verrazano Bridge toll booths for about 20 minutes yesterday by slowly paying the $10 toll in pennies to protest an imminent increase. 40-year-old Scott LoBaido led the motorcade to the lower-level midspan, where he climbed up on his 1989 Chevy Suburban's roof, blasted "Battle Hymn of the Republic" from the car stereo, and yelled, "Come on! Honk your horns!" The Verrazano cash toll will go up to $11 on July 12th, the E-ZPass toll will rise to $9.14, and the discounted E-ZPass toll for Staten Island residents will rise to $5.48. Explaining the protest to the Post, toll opponent Genevieve Grecco said, "You can't mess with Staten Island. We are going to make a fuss. We are human beings, not bank accounts you can constantly draw from." And another protester, Tina Bellino, unrolled the $10 worth of pennies she'd obtained from the bank and sprinkled them into several sandwich bags, telling the Staten Island Advance, "You didn't think I was going to make it easy for them [to count], did you?" Check out Fox News some has some great video interviews with the demonstrators. more ›

The Port Authority stopped a tractor-trailer when its driver made its license plate disappear on the Goethals Bridge. How? According to the Daily News, Orland Payano "had a cable running from the license plate to the dashboard cigarette lighter." When the lighter is manipulated, the front plate is tucked away. (The rear plate was "bent, partially concealing its markings.") A PA officer noticed that the plate disappeared and Payano was charged with fare evasion and license plate destruction. The driver, however, tells the News, "It's not true," and says he has EZ Pass. The fare on the Goethals is $40. more ›

It's one tall toll tale: The Post has a pretty crazy story about a toll worker who ended up pulling his "MTA Bridges and Tunnels-issued Glock 9mm pistol on a driver who handed him a wad of crumpled cash." more ›

Four more people can be added to the total number of New Yorkers who have been run down by drivers finding it difficult to stay on the road this weekend. In the fourth incident in two days, two toddlers were badly injured when a 16-year-old driver swerved onto the sidewalk in Flatbush, Brooklyn and injured two children and two young women. Both of the toddlers needed to be hospitalized--one in critical condition and the other in stable condition. more ›