The Comptroller of Puerto Rico issues a qualified opinion on the operations of the Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses related, among others, to the regulation, the preventive maintenance and repair of the buses, the licenses and professional registrations of the mechanics, and the licenses of the drivers. A qualified opinion is issued when the instances of noncompliance, individually or together, are significant but not pervasive.
The Report reveals that the Autoridad Metropolitana de Autobuses did not comply with the law and the regulation related to the renewal of the licenses and the professional registrations of the automotive technicians and mechanics nor with that of the refrigeration technicians. Our examination detected that 38 of the 49 automotive technicians and mechanics were up to four years without a current license, and six of them were up to six years without professional registration. On the other hand, eight refrigeration technicians were up to almost three years without the corresponding licenses. These situations may constitute misdemeanors and are due to the lack of a regulation to follow up on the personnel's compliance with the licenses required by law.
The three-finding audit notes that 15 drivers drove with expired licenses and that 18 had their license expired for up to almost three years. Our auditors identified that the areas of Human Capital Management and Intermodal Programming of the AMA did not follow up on nor maintain records of the drivers' compliance.
The Report evidences multiple deficiencies in the preventive maintenance and repair of buses. For example, the AMA did not have a regulation or procedure for the administration of the Field Service module of the Great Plains program that manages the maintenance and repair service orders. In addition, it does not perform evaluations that measure the productivity and efficiency of the mechanics as recommended by the Federal Transit Administration.
From 2013 to 2016, the AMA generated revenues of $240 million and incurred expenses amounting to $291 million for an accumulated loss of $51 million. Its funds come from legislative appropriations, federal contributions, excise taxes, and revenues generated from its operations.
The Report covers the period from July 1, 2010, to July 31, 2017..
See Audit Report CP-18-11.
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