Latest MTA OIG report finds concerns with authority’s tracking and maintaining vehicles contract

A new report from Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) Daniel G. Cort found significant concerns with the MTA’s $65 million contract for tracking and maintaining its fleet of over 5,000 work vehicles. According to the report, the MTA piggybacked onto an existing New York State’s Office of General Services (OGS) contract rather than develop its own agreement with a vendor. 

The report notes an audit found the MTA entered into the contract in 2022 without taking critical steps such as ensuring the vendor would use GPS data to help with preventive maintenance; identifying the vendor’s multiple potential conflicts of interest; ensuring fleet managers at all agencies would verify the cost and quality of repairs; and fully evaluating the terms before the MTA Board gave approval. 

“Effective vehicle fleet management is essential to saving money on repairs and keeping the system running efficiently,” Cort said. “The handling of the procurement and the management of this contract is concerning. I am pleased that MTA procurement intends to address many of the issues raised in our report in their next fleet vehicle management contract.” 

The audit began in early 2024 and identified multiple issues with the contract, which was originally $41 million before increasing to $65 million. 

Among the findings: 

• The MTA didn’t contractually require the vendor to upload critical GPS data from a third party vendor that would help determine each vehicle’s preventative maintenance schedule. 
• The MTA didn’t identify several potential conflicts of interest, including how the vendor automatically assessed auto shops a 3% “fast pay” charge on all repair services even though it is supposed to be optional, reducing the incentive to keep costs down. The vendor and its parent company are authorized resellers of components used in repairs of MTA vehicles at the same time they were responsible for approving repair shops’ choice of parts. 
• With the exception of New York City Transit, MTA agencies do not independently verify the quality of parts used in the repairs, nor independently confirm that all the repairs were necessary or completed as planned. The vendor does not require manufacturer names or part numbers in repair shop estimates, potentially missing opportunities to significantly cut costs. 

The OIG’s six recommendations to the MTA, which were all accepted, included a thorough evaluation of the upcoming fleet management contract to ensure it meets participating agency needs and a meticulous vetting of the next vendor for potential conflicts of interest. 

The full report can be downloaded from the MTA OIG’s website.