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Audit finds missing toll data fields; city to review TransCore contract and require safeguards
Summary
An external audit of the bridge roadside toll-capture system found key data gaps that limit oversight. The Laredo Bridge Department says it will meet with TransCore and revise agreements to secure transaction IDs, manual/automatic read indicators and indemnities before broader system changes.
An independent audit of the bridge roadside toll-capture system identified missing data elements that prevent full verification of transaction performance, city staff told the City of Laredo Bridge Advisory Committee on Oct. 1.
The audit, delivered by the Fagan firm, examined about 220 crossing reports and found that no single system report included both transaction IDs and an indicator showing whether a read was automatic or a manual tag scan, Elsin Afosa, Bridge Department staff, told the committee. “These fields were essential for an accurate audit,” Afosa said.
The audit team recommended an independent verification focusing first on roadside operations because that portion of the tolling workflow — the initial capture of transactions — had not previously been third-party verified. The report established baseline key performance indicators and “reliable metrics” staff said can serve as benchmarks for monitoring and for accountability during the upcoming renewal of the transfer and maintenance agreement.
City staff said the next steps are to meet with the current toll-system vendor, TransCore, and to revise the contract so the city obtains the two critical fields and the data access needed for internal and third-party audits. Afosa said staff will also work with legal to include indemnifications and other protections in the revised agreement.
“This limitation is precisely why an independent audit was necessary,” Afosa said. Without combined transaction IDs and manual-scan indicators, she said, management would not have a complete view of roadside transaction performance.
Committee members were told the audit report arrived about a week and a half before the meeting and that staff will schedule discussions with TransCore to determine how long contract revisions and technical fixes will take.
No timetable for completing the TransCore contract review was announced at the meeting. The city’s Bridge Department emphasized that resolving the data gaps is a prerequisite before expanding third-party verification to front-office operations or rolling out system changes that depend on vendor-provided reports.
Evidence from the audit will also be used to inform the city’s approach to indemnities and data access in the transfer/maintenance contract renewal, city staff said.
The audit and the planned contract revisions were presented as operational and governance actions; the committee did not take a formal vote on the matter during the meeting.
