The N.C. Auditor’s office today released results of its audit of North Carolina’s Rural Vanpool program. The Executive Summary’s first two paragraphs are stunning.
We conducted an investigation of allegations regarding the contract for and the operation of the North Carolina Rural Vanpool Program (vanpool program). The North Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT) contracted with 2Plus, Inc. (2Plus) to operate the vanpool program. Our investigation found gross mismanagement in a number of areas which are summarized below.
DOT allowed 2Plus to operate the vanpool program without a contract for the equivalent of six years of the program’s 11-year history. Operating without a contract led to disagreement about the purpose of the program and responsibilities of DOT and 2Plus. For example, we discovered that a significant number of vans were used to transport South Carolina residents to places of employment in North Carolina. Other vans were utilized by a resort on the Outer Banks to shuttle its nonresident alien workers between the resort property and local housing.
