RAISED IN LEGISLATIVE AUDIT
January 30, 2008
Board of Trustees
Utah Transit Authority
3600 South 700 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84119
re: legislative audit
Dear Members of the Utah Transit Authority Board of Trustees:
On Friday, January 25, the Office of the Legislative Auditor General released an audit of the Utah Transit Authority that raises serious issues that need to be addressed by the Board of Trustees. Low income people rely on public transportation to be able to get to work and other appointments. It is essential that money taxpayers have set aside for public transportation is used wisely. Therefore we would like to ask you to do the following:
1) Investigate whether performance bonuses were awarded to staff improperly: The audit highlights serious flaws with the methods UTA has used to count passengers in recent years and asserts that TRAX ridership may have been overestimated by twenty percent. The audit also highlights the fact that increased ridership was a significant factor in determining whether top level UTA employees would receive large performance bonuses. If ridership truly did not go up in recent years there is a very real possibility staff members were awarded tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses inappropriately. As trustees for the public's money, you have a responsibility to investigate that possibility and establish procedures to prevent inappropriate awards to staff in the future.
2) Investigate allegations the public relations department has misled the public: The audit asserts that on several occasions UTA's public relations staff released statements that were inaccurate. It is imperative that an agency that receives hundreds of millions of dollars in tax money every year provides honest information to the public. If staff have consistently misled the public in the past then the Board of Trustees has a responsibility to put procedures in place to ensure truthful communication in the future.
3) Develop a serious plan for increasing bus ridership: The audit is full of several statistics about the negative impact declining bus ridership has on UTA's revenue and the quality of the air we all breathe. The audit also shows that bus riders pay 50 percent more for each ride than do TRAX riders and so increasing bus ridership is the fastest way to increase UTA's fare box revenue. UTA's staff has complacently watched bus ridership decline during the past decade and so the Board of Trustees needs to take a leading role in developing plans for increasing bus ridership. Community organizations would be very happy to help develop and promote such a plan.
The audit is lengthy and contains numerous concerns that are not mentioned in this letter. We would strongly encourage you to read the entire document. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. We look forward to work with you in the coming year to ensure that our public transportation system works better for the people of the different communities served by the Utah Transit Authority.
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