The MTA last week quietly eliminated a long-standing policy that required two patrol cars on its nine city crossings 24 hours a day, seven days a week, The Post has learned.
A different unit of about six to seven cars that had focused solely on speeders must now patrol all of the crossings — including the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, sources said.
This unit will be in charge of everything from checking suspicious vehicles to looking out for drunken drivers, sources said.
An MTA spokeswoman insisted the move does not jeopardize the public’s safety.
“[The agency] did not eliminate any patrol cars or personnel . . . They are being deployed in a more efficient manner to better serve and fit in with our current security plan.”
Almost a million drivers go through the nine locations every day.Sources say the MTA brass has been eliminating costs that were created or expanded after 9/11.
The agency generates more than $800 million a year in revenue for the MTA, and there have been more than four toll increases since 2008.