Overview
Although this matter was not part of the audit objectives, we found that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) did not disable the free transportation benefit of 76 former employees. These terminated employees remained active in the MBTA’s automated fare collection system as of the time of our fieldwork, September 2019. They had unauthorized free transportation for periods ranging from 128 to 946 days after separation. In addition, we identified 2,594 instances (representing 51 distinct individuals) where former employees were granted free fare access after their effective dates of termination. Thus, former employees received free transportation to which they were not entitled. We estimated at least $5,517 in lost revenue for the agency. Since the MBTA’s automated fare collection system only stores records for 14 months, we could not determine the extent of the problem throughout the entire audit period.
Date published: | April 23, 2020 |
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