The MTA and the NYPD mean it when they say each passenger is allowed to take up one seat and one seat only. To prove their point, they're doling out tickets to offenders who sprawl out -- even if it's at 2:30 in the morning and the car is nearly empty. Gothamist reports that two commuters were hit with $50 summonses for taking up too much space while passing through the 96th Street station well after midnight.

One offender was ticketed on two (!) different occasions. The second time he confronted his officer who admitted, "We've been told to write tickets instead of give warnings for this type of thing," and added that they need to hit quotas. The NYPD, of course, denies the officer's statement.

The number of summonses (784 to date) is up only 24 from last year, proving that these tickets may not be driven by quota but by sheer stupidity. Hey, policemen, instead of controlling the non-existent crowds underground, why don't you go fight crime? Or find those damn missing shopping carts!