91 million yen could be saved by adjusting the delivery date for the procurement of flares for the Shuto Expressway, the Board of Audit points out.

An investigation by the Board of Audit revealed on the 2nd that a total of approximately 91 million yen could have been saved over two years by adjusting delivery times, such as avoiding expensive holidays (Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) when procuring flares used for traffic control such as construction and cleaning of the Metropolitan Expressway. In response to the criticism, the Metropolitan Expressway (Tokyo) revised its manual, including requiring deliveries to be made on weekdays in principle.

According to the Inspection Board, the Shuto Expressway determines the unit price of flares to be used in a year through bidding, and construction companies request delivery as long as the amount stored does not exceed legal regulations. The unit price differs depending on whether delivery is on a weekday or a holiday, and whether it is delivered the next day or two days after ordering, with the most expensive next day delivery on a holiday being about 100 yen more expensive than the cheapest delivery two days later on a weekday.

The Inspection Agency investigated the approximately 2.97 million bottles delivered in the two years up to November last year (totaling over 2.3 billion yen) and found that 40% were delivered on the next day or on holidays, which are more expensive. However, only about 2% of cases had difficulty adjusting delivery dates due to emergency construction.

Shuto Express said, ``We would like to make appropriate procurement efforts in response to the findings of the inspectorate.''