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Audit

Audit  Audit of the Merrimack Valley Transit (May 5, 2026)

Our office conducted a performance audit of the Merrimack Valley Transit for the period July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024.

Organization: Office of the State Auditor
Date published: May 5, 2026

Executive Summary

In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of certain activities of Merrimack Valley Transit (MeVa) for the period July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2024.

The purpose of our audit was to determine the following:

  • Did MeVa ensure that employees of its contracted operating companies received required safety trainings in accordance with Section 673.29(a)(1) of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, MeVa’s Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan, and the “Progressive Discipline Policy” for each of MeVa’s contracted operating companies?
  • Did MeVa take corrective action to address the issue identified in our prior audit (Audit No. 2022‑0496-3A) regarding Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) paratransit complaints? 

Below is a summary of our findings, the effects of those findings, and our recommendations, with hyperlinks to each page listed.

  
Finding 1MeVa did not ensure that employees of its contracted operating companies completed required newly hired employee safety training or de-escalation training.
EffectA lack of training could jeopardize the safety of riders and the general public. It also increases the risk to MeVa’s safety and operations, putting employees of MeVa’s contracted operating companies at risk because they are sent into the field without being fully equipped to perform their jobs safely and effectively. 
Recommendations
  1. MeVa should develop, document, and implement sufficient policies and procedures, including a monitoring component, to ensure that employees of its contracted operating companies complete required safety trainings. This should include newly hired employee safety training, quarterly refresher trainings, de-escalation training, and any required retraining resulting from documented preventable accidents. 
  2. MeVa should ensure that it retains records of training assignments and completions for all employees of its contracted operating companies.
Finding 2MeVa did not resolve previously identified issues regarding processing ADA paratransit complaints.
EffectBy continuing to not follow the required procedures for its ADA paratransit complaint process, MeVa may not resolve significant issues regarding its transportation services in a timely manner or at all. This could have a negative impact on the quality of services that MeVa provides to its ADA-required paratransit riders.
RecommendationMeVa should implement monitoring controls to ensure that its contracted operating companies acknowledge ADA paratransit complaints within 24 hours, resolve complaints, and consistently document any follow-up actions and outcomes.

In addition to the conclusions we reached regarding our audit objectives, we also identified issues not specifically addressed by our objectives regarding the recording and monitoring of customer complaints and the development of policies or procedures to oversee the creation and maintenance of information system user accounts. See Other Matters for more information. 

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