The free ride -- or free parking, at least -- is about to expire for thousands of city officials.

The city will yank 20 percent of parking placards issued to city workers, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced yesterday, calling the move part of an effort to encourage New Yorkers to ride mass transit and leave their cars at home.

Others said the new regulations will crack a culture of entitlement that has fostered abuse.

Officials estimate there are about 70,000 city-issued parking placards currently issued to employees, and the 20 percent cutback required from each city agency will amount to about 14,000 fewer permits.

"Parking placards are a necessary tool for conducting city business, but we have no tolerance for their abuse, which contributes to congestion," Bloomberg said. "We will give out placards only to those who need to use them to further the public interest. City workers have often led by example, and our efforts to reduce traffic congestion will be no different."

City workers have been given the impression that "it's the right of municipal employees to drive to work and park wherever they want, which is not what these permits were intended to do," said Wiley Norvell, communications director for Transportation Alternatives, a public transportation advocacy group.

The change, Norvell said, could help the city "really see a dramatic reduction in this abuse," he said.

In a recent study, Transportation Alternatives found that 53 percent of all permits placed on dashboards in St. George were used illegally, whether taking up spots at parking meters, or using counterfeit or expired placards.

Court officers, the study found, were the most common offenders around the Island's bustling judicial hub.

Dennis Quirk, president of the New York State Court Officers Association, said court officers have moved some cars from the small side streets bordering Family Court and the State Supreme Court, and are now parking in a lot at the ferry terminal.

"We agreed to cut back over there," he said, after fielding complaints from neighbors.

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said drivers who display phony permits will be issued summonses and will be subject to further prosecution.

City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan touted the program as part of a more environmentally friendly transportation policy, more than just opening up more parking spots.

It will include an inventory of all placards currently assigned, and the police department will create a new enforcement unit to check compliance. Agencies also will implement measures to prevent parking permit abuse by employees, and existing agency parking allocations will be reviewed.

Though multiple agencies currently issue their own placards, the city Police and Transportation departments will take over the role beginning March 1, when the new permits are issued.

Maura Yates covers transportation news for the Advance. She may be reached at myates@siadvance.com.