A friend of ours used to work as a grocer, and during her stint as a manager became well-acquainted with the ins and outs of the store’s inventory process.

As one might expect, staff occasionally discovers a sausage surplus or the disappearance of a kumquat. But after a good scouring, most products are accounted for.

That should come as a relief to ferry riders, who last week were told by Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald that the ferry system’s inventory control is “as good as the inventory control at QFC.” His comments, printed in several area newspapers, were in response to an annual state audit that found – for the 21st consecutive year – that the ferry system doesn’t have “adequate controls over ticket sales and revenue collection.” “No system is in place to ensure that all sales are recorded,” the audit said, citing human error and frequent-user ferry coupons, which represent about 32 percent of vehicle and passenger transactions, among the potential contributors to unaccounted-for fares.

WSF last year reported $136.5 million in farebox revenue, along with $3.2 million from ticket sales by independent contractors. But according to the audit, no one knows for sure how much money may have been lost due to weaknesses in the collection system.

After two decades of similarly flawed findings, word of WSF’s recent failures are by no means revelatory – MacDonald himself said he wondered if the findings weren’t somehow lodged in the auditor’s word processor. It seems a bit odd, though, that they should serve as fodder for the transportation secretary’s comedy routine.

It’s only fair to note that with his remarks, MacDonald probably wasn’t attempting to draw a literal comparison between WSF and the well-known grocery chain – kumquats and 2,500-passenger ferries don’t belong on the same scale, and neither do private businesses and publicly funded transportation entities. Though it’s hard to know what he meant, his apparent nonchalance is disconcerting. Instead of placating commuters beleaguered by ever-rising fares with a vanilla retort like “the ferry system is constantly working to ensure all fares are accounted for,” he offered the equivalent of “we’re just as good as anyone else.”

The latter may well be true. Problem is, the ferry system is unique. It is the only viable transportation solution for many islanders and other cross-sound commuters who would otherwise be marooned. It’s also paid for by the public and, in the face of well-documented funding challenges, WSF continues to force customers to pay higher fares (at last check, the price of kumquats hadn’t risen by more than 60 percent over six years). The least transportation officials could do is speak with humility about their shortcomings at the tollbooth, especially when there’s reason to think things will improve.

The audit rightly forecasts better days ahead as a result of WSF’s new electronic fare system – introduced last week – which is expected to drastically improve the agency’s ability to accurately measure farebox revenue. We were even looking forward to using it until, on the first day of the new system, through no one’s fault but our own, we missed an island-bound sailing. Given an hour of unplanned leisure, we approached one of several ferry employees on hand to help acclimate commuters to the new system, and asked why the fancy green kiosks don’t take cash.

“We considered that,” the woman replied. “But in the end we were worried people would try to steal from them if they were loaded with money.”

“That makes sense,” we said, nodding. “With as much as we’re spending on fares, it’s comforting to know you’re watching every penny.”