HD5 - Review of the State's Passenger Vehicle Fleet


Executive Summary:
House Joint Resolution 518, approved by the 2003 session of the General Assembly, directed the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) to study the management of the Commonwealth’s centralized vehicle fleet and the use of State-owned passenger vehicles. The resolution specifically directed JLARC to focus its review on vehicle use, personal mileage reimbursement, and the adequacy of the fleet composition and its management. The resolution also directed JLARC to examine alternatives to current fleet operations, including the outsourcing of vehicle maintenance, leasing fleet vehicles instead of purchasing them, and using public transportation vouchers as an alternative to fleet vehicle use or personal mileage reimbursement. This report contains the staff findings and recommendations regarding these issues.

This study found that, in general, the numbers, types, and quality of fleet vehicles appear to be adequate to address the missions of the agencies that use them. This study also found that policies to limit the inappropriate use of State-owned vehicles appear to be appropriate. However, the Office of Fleet Management Services (OFMS) could improve its oversight of personal mileage reimbursements, employee commuting, vehicle utilization criteria, and agency vehicle purchase requests. In addition, the Department of General Services could better ensure that the State is purchasing the most economical vehicles by selecting those vehicles with the lowest lifecycle costs.

One key finding of this review is that OFMS was unable to provide accurate vehicle maintenance cost data on its fleet vehicles. Because of this inability, JLARC was unable to determine the appropriateness of the rental rate structure, vehicle replacement schedule, minimum mileage criteria for vehicle assignment, or size of the trip pool. Thus, it is unclear whether fleet vehicles are being used in situations where personal mileage reimbursement would be more cost-effective. This report requests the General Assembly to direct OFMS and the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to provide JLARC staff with accurate vehicle maintenance cost data in 2004.

Employees of the Commonwealth are generally satisfied with the in-house maintenance services provided by VDOT and OFMS. However, because private vendors also offer comprehensive fleet maintenance services, the Commonwealth should consider outsourcing vehicle maintenance by assessing the cost of maintaining vehicles in-house and issuing a request for proposals to prospective vendors.