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Performance audit of Transit
September 15, 2009
NEW! Read the latest follow-up report
King County Metro Transit operates one of the largest transit systems in the country. The King County Council requested that the auditor’s office conduct a performance audit of Transit in order to identify operational efficiencies, potential costs savings and revenue enhancements, and other ways to improve the transit system. Overall, the audit found that Transit is actively engaged in fulfilling its stated mission. Transit’s approach to fulfilling its mission has contributed to higher expenditures – a situation exacerbated by reduced revenues and increased costs. The recommendations in this report have the potential to achieve annual cost savings in the range of $30 to $37 million and to boost revenue by as much as $54 million per year. Added to this is a one-time draw down of $105 million in excess fund balance. Realizing these results may require trade-offs in Transit priorities but could be a better option than incurring deeper service cuts. Implementation of some recommendations will take time and/or involve important policy choices made by decision-makers.The audit includes a series of technical reports:
- Technical Report A evaluates financial planning, capital planning, trolley replacement, and fare strategies
- Technical Report B describes bus service development
- Technical Report C includes discussion of operator and transit police staffing
- Technical Report D evaluates Access paratransit services
- Technical Report E reviews vehicle maintenance
- Technical Report F includes ridership data and emergency customer communications.
The Auditor has followed up on the report to evaluate implementation of our recommendations. See the most updated information below.
Of the 54 recommendations:
| DONE | 42 | Recommendations have been fully implemented. Auditor will no longer monitor. |
|---|---|---|
| PROGRESS | 0 | Recommendations are in progress or partially implemented. Auditor will continue to monitor. |
| OPEN | 0 | Recommendations remain unresolved. Auditor will continue to monitor. |
| CLOSED | 12 | Recommendation is no longer applicable. Auditor will no longer monitor. |
Summary
King County Metro Transit is a large and complex organization that serves more than 100 million riders annually within a 2,134 square-mile area. With an annual operating budget of nearly $600 million, Transit operates and maintains a bus fleet of over 1,300 vehicles. The recommendations in this report have the potential to achieve annual cost savings in the range of $30 to $37 million and to boost revenue by as much as $54 million per year. Added to this is a one-time draw down of $105 million in excess fund balance.
Overall, the audit found that Transit is actively engaged in fulfilling its stated mission. Transit’s approach to fulfilling its mission has contributed to higher expenditures – a situation exacerbated by reduced revenues and increased costs. Transit has multiple opportunities to improve its use of planning and analysis to reduce costs, generate revenues, and achieve its objectives. We reviewed eight areas of Transit and made specific findings and recommendations across the system. The eight areas include: Service Development, Financial and Capital Planning, Staffing, Paratransit, Trolley Replacement, Vehicle Maintenance, Transit Fares, and Data/Documentation.
Throughout the report, our recommendations are intended to shift Transit’s organizational perspective more toward cost reduction and revenue enhancement by operationalizing an approach that includes systematic planning and effective data analysis.
Reports related to this audit
Click on the images below to view the follow-up reports.
Currently, there are no related reports to this project.
Audit team
Ron Perry, Kymber Waltmunson, Rob McGowan, Larry Brubaker, Bob Thomas, Brian Estes, Elizabeth DuBois, and consultants Booz Allen Hamilton, Nelson Nygaard, Courval Scheduling, MicroKinetics, Matt and Associates conducted this audit. If you have any questions or would like more information, please call the King County Auditor's Office at 206-477-1033 or contact us by email KCAO@kingcounty.gov.