Passenger Bus, Rail and Motorcoach Industry News

The excess amount was $349,632 over a four-and-a-half-year period, according to a state auditor. An untrained employee and overly complex accounting systems were to blame for the payment mistakes.

Citing faulty planning for the project. Cost estimates for the 41-mile stretch of planned commuter- train lines jumped from $894 million to $1.7 billion. Meanwhile, RTD approved a plan to build a hybrid transportation system consisting of commuter rail and bus lines instead of the initially planned full rail system.

Of the 30 evaluated applications, none had adequate documentation to show that the applicants needed the service.

While local sales tax revenue provided the majority of the agency's $275 million budget in 2010, it’s not clear that the agency will have the revenue required to operate the commuter and light rail extensions, which are currently under construction.

According to Controller Wendy Greuel’s analysis of a 2002 contract Los Angeles held with CBS Decaux, the city moved slowly on permitting street furniture, which decreased the ad revenue the city could earn.

Agency will receive $72.6 million as it works toward addressing concerns raised in an ongoing FTA audit.

The report found the rate of unscheduled absenteeism for Muni operators is 15 percent, compared with 11 percent in Philadelphia, 6 percent in Los Angeles and 4 percent in Seattle.

Agency successfully extricated itself from two-thirds of these lease arrangements and is working diligently to resolve those few which still remain in effect. Even in the worst-case scenario, MARTA will wind up with a net profit.