Staff Report #8
November 27, 2024
To All Commissioners
Re: Financial Update – Capital Budget Programs – October 31, 2024
Recommendation
That the report be NOTED and FILED.
Background
Summarized in the table below is the 2024 Capital Program Summary for the ten-month period ending October 31, 2024.
Summary of 2024 Capital Budget Program Activity Ten Months Ending October 31, 2024
| Description | Actual | Budget | Amount Under Budget (Over Budget) |
|
| Program | ||||
| Bus replacement (2023) | $ 12,454,203 | $ 12,177,800 | $ (276,403) | |
| Bus replacement (2024) | 820,373 | 14,918,300 | 14,097,927 | |
| Bus expansion | 8,992,537 | 8,495,000 | (497,513) | |
| Facility upgrades | 590,472 | 801,800 | 211,328 | |
| Fare processing equipment | – | 2,495,000 | 2,495,000 | |
| Information systems & hardware | 738,993 | 1,188,000 | 449,007 | |
| Shop & garage equipment | 179,320 | 240,000 | 60,680 | |
| Service fleet replacement | 144,524 | 155,000 | 10,476 | |
| Stop upgrades | – | 100,000 | 100,000 | |
| Bus stop amenities | – | 224,600 | 224,600 | |
| Fleet radio replacement | – | 625,000 | 625,000 | |
| Smart card program | 374,476 | 408,000 | 33,524 | |
| Highbury facility rebuild | – | 2,500,000 | 2,500,000 | |
| Zero emission bus pilot | – | 25,960,000 | 25,960,000 | |
| Total | $ 24,294,898 | $ 70,288,500 | $ 45,993,602 | |
| Funding | ||||
| Provincial Gas Tax | $ 5,914,178 | $ 7,731,300 | $ 1,817,122 | |
| Capital Program Reserve | 1,062,837 | 1,683,000 | 620,163 | |
| City of London | 3,993,890 | 28,937,700 | 24,943,810 | |
| City – Federal Gas Tax | 6,732,500 | 10,732,500 | 4,000,000 | |
| ICIP – Provincial | 2,994,478 | 3,736,200 | 741,722 | |
| ICIP – Federal | 3,597,015 | 4,487,800 | 890,785 | |
| Senior Government | – | 12,980,000 | 12,980,000 | |
| Total | $ 24,294,898 | $ 70,288,500 | $ 45,993,602 | |
The following programs are underway through the first ten months of the year, with narrative focusing on the year-to-date progress.
Bus replacement (2023) – All of the buses have arrived and are now in service. The unfavourable variance is attributable to a slightly higher bus cost compared to budget.
Bus replacement (2024) – Costs incurred to date relate to the purchase of ancillary equipment in anticipation of the arrival of the 2024 replacement buses, expected in the first quarter of 2025.
Bus expansion – All ten expansion buses have arrived and have been equipped for service. The unfavourable variance is attributable to a slightly higher net bus cost compared to budget as well as higher than anticipated ancillary equipment (radios, cameras and air filtration system).
Facility upgrades – The facility upgrade program is well underway with costs incurred to date pertaining to camera installations at both facilities, stairs to the body shop roof, door replacements at Wonderland, a large ceiling fan at Wonderland, tent panel replacements at Highbury and the new bus wash lane at Wonderland, of which installation is on track for completion by year end.
Information systems & hardware – Expenditures incurred to date for the purchase of workstations, networking equipment, Dispatch radio communication terminals, and the Transit Master system upgrade. Work is also progressing on the implementation of the Specialized scheduling system with all back-end installs for client files and common destinations complete. The test environment has been established and available for use by administration. Remote sessions have been ongoing with the vendor to set-up and train the administrative functions of the system while training for end users (LTC and Voyago) is set for the weeks of December 3rd and December 10th.
Shop and garage equipment – Expenditures incurred to date relate to the ongoing monthly purchase of shop tools and miscellaneous equipment including a parts washer, pallet lift, floor scrubber and DriveON safety equipment.
Service fleet replacement – Expenditures incurred to date relate to the purchase of a new Inspector van, along with a mobile mechanic’s van. Both units are now in service.
Smart card program – Expenditures incurred to date relate to the handheld project for Specialized Service. Full deployment to the fleet occurred in early November with riders now utilizing the fare system for monthly and tuition passes as well as stored value (declining balance). At the time of writing, minor wiring issues are being resolved by Voyago, but this has not impacted the use of the devices. Initial customer contacts were limited to ‘card not working errors’, which when investigated resulted from either a lack of appropriate fare on the card (i.e. valid monthly pass, or sufficient stored value) or incorrect tapping procedures.
Administration will continue to monitor actual to budget performance and report to the Commission on a monthly basis.
Recommended by:
Mike Gregor, Director of Finance
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager