GAO Report: Federal Auto Fleet Up Seven Percent In Six Years

The federal government's fleet of automobiles has increased by seven percent to 449,000 over the last six years as agencies buy more ethanol-powered vehicles, a government report found. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report released on August 2 that the number of vehicles increased from about 420,000 in 2005 to more than 449,000 vehicles — an increase of 29,000 vehicles.

Some agencies decreased their fleets, and the change in fleet size from agency to agency varied considerably. The biggest jump was at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which boosted the number of vehicles by forty-nine percent, adding about 5,400 vehicles. The Department of Homeland Security saw its vehicle fleet increase by forty-eight percent, adding 18,200 vehicles.

Some agencies have tried to cut vehicle costs. The Air Force last year found 6,000 underutilized vehicles that, if eliminated, could save the Air Force $500 million or more. Over the last year, the Air Force has cut 739 vehicles from their fleet. Overall federal agencies increased the portion of their fleets made up of alternative fuel vehicles — vehicles that operate using ethanol or batteries — from about fourteen percent to thirty-three percent from 2005 to 2011.

In addition, GAO found that eight agencies account for seventy-nine percent of total federal vehicles in fiscal year 2011, while thirty-five other agencies held the remaining twenty-one percent. Those figures don't include postal vehicles and tactical military vehicles.

Last year, the Obama administration announced it was buying more than 100 plug-in electric vehicles and installed charging stations in government buildings in five cities, including Detroit. The General Services Administration (GSA) — which oversees most of the federal government's vehicle fleet — announced it was buying 116 plug-in electric vehicles, including 101 extended-range Chevrolet Volts and ten battery electric Nissan Leafs. As part of a pilot project, the vehicles are to be placed with twenty government agencies in five cities — Detroit, Washington, D.C., San Diego, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. All branches of the U.S. military — including some recruiters — will get electric vehicles under the pilot program as will the Veterans Administration and the Energy Department.

The government is expected to install about one hundred charging stations at federal buildings in California, Washington, D.C., and Michigan. GSA buys the vehicles for two-thirds of the federal fleet, acquiring about 65,000 new vehicles annually. The U.S. Post Office owns and buys the remaining vehicles. The administration has doubled the number of hybrids in the federal fleet over the last two years.

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