BOSTON -- Massachusetts drivers narrowly escaped the latest round of toll hikes but with all of the Turnpike Authority's debt and the constant threat of higher tolls it might be surprising that the Massachusetts Turnpike is giving out free rides.

NewsCenter 5's Steve Lacy reported that there are more than 4,000 "non-revenue" transponders that allow people to drive the Turnpike for free. About 3,000 of them go to state troopers, but the remaining 1,000 go to others.

For an annual fee of $26, more than 800 current turnpike employees use them to travel toll free throughout Massachusetts, according to the Boston Herald. They include 391 toll collectors, 458 Turnpike employees and 152 seasonal toll takers.

One regular 'pike motorist said something does not seem right.

"They should be taking their benefits, I would think, to the bare bones. If they were a real business, they would be out of business by now, I guess is what I'm saying ... anything is fair game to be cut," said commuter Jim Monahan of Hopkinton.

There are also more than 200 retired turnpike employees who are paying just $5 a year to travel the turnpike free of tolls.

The free rides could come to an end on Nov. 1 when the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority is dissolved and rolled into the newly-created Massachusetts Department of Transportation.