Investigation into SR-125 tolling found mischarges, millions in lost revenue

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- The results of an investigation into the SR-125 tolling system following incorrect charges brought to light late last year were released Monday.

According to a release Monday by Courtney Ruby, the San Diego Association of Government's independent performance auditor, the investigation found that the former tolling contractor ETAN's Fastlane financial reporting "cannot be relied upon" and the Finance department "lacks adequate internal controls...to ensure SR-125 financial information is accurately recorded and reported."

The investigation was launched in December following a lawsuit filed in November that alleged up to 45,000 people were incorrectly charged while driving on the SR-125 toll road in the South Bay. It found that customer transactions were not being tracked correctly in Fastlane's general ledger, the release said.

Out of $35 million in annual toll revenue, an estimated $23 million comes from FasTrak customers, according to SANDAG.

Additional findings from the investigation alleged that ETAN's new back-office tolling system was "headed for trouble from the beginning" and SANDAG management did not address the issues right away before they escalated.

The report stated that by last October, there were almost 1,200 open work tickets, indicating that SANDAG and ETAN did not have the capacity or "sufficient knowledge" to address them in a timely manner.

The investigation also found SANDAG lost $2 million in revenue because trips using the KAPSCH Roadway system were "incorrectly calculated" or not transmitted at all. The KAPSCH Roadway system records vehicle transactions on the SR-125 and then sends the data to the Fastlane back-office system for billing, according to the release.

The report also estimated that SANDAG lost at least $1 million in revenue due to a system function that was not turned on to place a DMV hold on someone's registration until all of their fees were paid. A portion of SANDAG's revenue comes from when customers fail to pay their tolls and applicable fees.

The full report from the investigation has been made publicly available on SANDAG's website here. The findings and 10 recommendations for the SANDAG board and executive management will be presented to the audit committee on Tuesday at 1 p.m.