$2M In Metrobus Fuel Transactions Unaccounted For: Audit

WASHINTON, DC — A three-year-audit conducted by Metro's Office of the Inspector General revealed that more than 1.17 million gallons in fuel transactions were unaccounted for. The missing fuel amounted to more than $2 million in unused resources for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

The OIG reported on Thursday that it was unable to validate the transactions because current and former Metro employees were using codes that gave the appearance of authorized transactions on designated fuel pumps. With these codes, they could pump fuel into unauthorized vehicles.

One example the OIG gave was of 211 separate employee identification numbers being used to inappropriately validate the pumping of 4,500 gallons of fuel.

These unauthorized transactions were occurring because WMATA had not fully implement a safety control program that would prevent non-revenue vehicles access to designated fuel pumps, according to the OIG report.

Contributing to the problem was a lack of in-person security at all hours of the day to monitor who is accessing the fuel pumps.

In addition, the OIG said that excessive idling of Metro vehicles during work hours resulted in more than $187,000 in wasted fuel.

In response to the audit, Joseph Leader, WMATA’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said, in a Dec. 17, 2021 letter, that management agreed with the OIG's recommendation to conduct a risk and cost-benefit analysis of its NRV fuel program.

However, Leader pointed out that data collected between October 2020 and October 2021 showed that controls were in place and there were no records of excess fuel being dispensed at that time.

Metro also reduced the maximum amount of fuel dispensed at one time from 3,500 gallons — for filling Metro-owned tanker trucks — to 200 gallons in response to the OIG's report.

Metro agreed to other recommendations by the OIG, including reducing unnecessary idling of their vehicles as much as possible.