I love how audits can call out in very matter of fact language irrational decisions. "These criteria demonstrate that issues other than strictly public safety played a role in determining the program locations." (p.22) The City Controller of Los Angeles completed an audit on the photo red light program and its effectiveness in reducing traffic accidents caused by running red lights. Best practices state that it is most effective to place cameras at intersections with high traffic and accident rates. The audit found that that placement was the result in part of the need to garner Council support for the program so cameras were located in each Council district regardless of traffic congestion and accident data.

Sometimes you just happen upon something

Blogs can lead to interesting places. I started with NYTimes Freakonomics blog. That led to a blog that I hadn't seen yet called frumination. I followed the link because we are currently conducting an audit of transportation outcomes and this link was about what would be the effect if there were no subways in New York. The author of the frumination blog took data available from the Metropolitan Planning Organization of New York (an organization required for federal transportation funding) to do his/her analysis. Another blogger took the data and visualized it in another way. This shows the power of making data available and transparency.

Bus audit creates discussion about purpose

Here is an interesting news article about an audit of the transit system in Houston. A state audit has caused a debate about what the purpose of the transit system is. Is it efficiency? One metric considered was the operating ratio or the percent of the cost that is paid for by the fare. Increasing this metric requires reducing or eliminating routes that serve lower numbers of people. But then this raises the issue of equity or whether the transit authority's purpose is serving the low income, those who have no other means of transportation. Quality can be measured in another way - the comfort of the trip. Some think that using that performance measure light rail transportation is better than bus routes - because light rail is quieter, more comfortable, and more reliable.

A very interesting discussion and illustrates the value of an audit. Audits can improve the quality of the public discussion. This article reminds me of the debate that is taking place in my own jurisdiction, but without the benefit of an audit to clarify issues. See here, here, and here.