Transportation Services at the National Institutes of Health: A Review of Internal Controls and Contracting Alternatives

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) operates a transportation system that provides motor pool, shuttle bus, delivery, moving, and vehicle maintenance services to the NIH community. Included in its fleet of 235 vehicles are those dedicated to police, fire safety, maintenance, housekeeping, and other support functions. That transportation system costs NIH $4.2 million a year. The NIH wants to ensure that it has the appropriate internal controls in place for the transportation system and it wants to understand what parts of that program can be administered cost effectively using contract labor and equipment. We evaluated current internal controls and found no substantial abuses or material evidence of waste, loss, unauthorized use, or misappropriation. To improve the control of its transportation services we recommend that NIH establish oversight responsibility within the Transportation Branch and appoint local fleet managers within the major groups of vehicle users. We also recommend measures to ensure adequate justification, security, and proper use of vehicles and services. We investigated various mixes of Government and contract labor, vehicles, facilities, and maintenance for the transportation services and concluded that cost-effective contracting alternatives are available within some parts of the Transportation Branch at NIH. We recommend that NIH increase its use of contracts to satisfy transfer services requirements, use contracts awarded through full-and-open competition to satisfy shuttle services requirements, and use the General Services Administration leasing program to provide medium and heavy trucks in lieu of purchasing those vehicles outright. These contract alternatives will cost effectively reduce the current work force by 23 employees.