Only 68 Cars?

Don't look behind this curtain!

• There's a certain irony in a mass-transit agency providing cars to its employees.

  It's likely most company car assignments are justified, says Richard Rodriguez, president of the CTA. But the CTA might be giving cars to too many people, Rodriguez says.

  The CTA provides "company cars" with take-home privileges to 68 employees, agency records show. They include 38 upper-level managers who are paid more than $100,000 a year.

• The number of people with CTA cars is relatively small compared with its overall work force of about 11,000. Most employees with cars have them because they are on call around the clock and have to travel throughout the CTA's service area.

Gee. 11,000 employees. On call. Travel around the city. And the CTA gives out 68 cars.

We wonder if any other City Departments give out that many cars?