Mayor Bloomberg is taking issue with retired transit workers free train passes the New York Post reported today. The mayor’s office compiled the numbers after a caller into his weekly radio show asked him to. According to the article:

• About 15,000 retired transit workers get the free pass
• At full value the cards cost the MTA at least $16 million annually
• NYC transit rider numbers were not provided but between Metro-North and LIRR riders, approximately 11,600 passes are given out to former employees and their spouses
• As part of their pensions, transit retirees generally get the cards at age 55

It’s worth noting that the budget gap the MTA is trying to close is estimated at approximately $1.2 billion. Were the pass program to be eliminated, it would represent a little over 1% of what the MTA needs to make up.