by Hillary Chabot
DNN Reports!
Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009
The debt-plagued MBTA hemorrhaged more than $18 million due to sloppy oversight and delays while the system transitioned from using tokens to the Charlie card, state auditor Joe DeNucci found.
MBTA officials, who have recently threatened to hike fares and cut services, also risked an additional $37.5 million in taxpayer cash by failing to ensure the contractors would complete the work as requested, DeNucci found.
“This is another example of a multi-million dollar project costing more than it should because there wasn’t enough oversight,” DeNucci said in a press release. “The taxpayers and the MBTA’s riders are paying for that extra cost.
In the future, the T management should provide more oversight of the design process and make sure that its contractors live up to their obligations.”
DeNucci said the transition was riddled with design mistakes, clumsy planning and questionable decisions - such as when officials decided to cut back on the repair warranty for 400 fare boxes. The decision cost taxpayers $606,000 in repairs.
The MBTA began transitioning from the outdated token fare system to the smart card Charlie Pass in 2003, but the multiple communication failures and design goofs added another two years to the implementation, DeNucci said. Those delays cost another $2.9 million, DeNucci said.
Officials also reduced the contractor’s performance bond safeguarding the $75 million project from 100 to 50 percent, risking $37.5 million that went into the project. The bond was supposed to ensure that all the work would be completed properly.
DeNucci questioned the decision to reduce that bond, saying the contractor didn’t have much experience installing the smart card.
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