Staff Report #11
April 24, 2024
To All Commissioners
Re: Financial Update – Conventional Transit Services – Operating Budget – March 31, 2024
Recommendation
That the report be NOTED and FILED.
Background
Set out in the table below is the Statement of Operations for Conventional Transit Services for the three-month period ending March 31, 2024. The statement sets out actual to budget performance for the period.
London Transit Commission Statement of Operations – Conventional Transit Services Three Months Ending March 31, 2024 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Amount Better (Worse) | Percent Better (Worse) | |
| Revenue | |||||
| Transportation | $ 10,588.1 | $ 10,587.2 | $ 0.9 | 0.0 % | |
| Operating | 778.5 | 505.6 | 272.9 | 54.0 % | |
| Transfers from reserves | 303.3 | 399.8 | (96.5) | (24.1)% | |
| Province-provincial gas tax | 2,800.3 | 2,800.3 | – | 0.0 % | |
| City of London | 8,308.2 | 8,308.2 | – | 0.0 % | |
| Total revenue | 22,778.5 | 22,601.1 | 177.4 | 0.8 % | |
| Expenditure | |||||
| Personnel cost | 14,912.4 | 15,177.2 | 264.8 | 1.7 % | |
| Direct bus maintenance | 2,301.4 | 2,454.9 | 153.5 | 6.3 % | |
| Fuel | 2,337.8 | 2,630.5 | 292.7 | 11.1 % | |
| Facility costs | 998.8 | 1,009.3 | 10.5 | 1.0 % | |
| Insurance | 184.5 | 281.0 | 96.5 | 34.3 % | |
| Contribution to reserves | 361.1 | 187.2 | (173.9) | (92.9)% | |
| All other material expense | 848.6 | 861.0 | 12.4 | 1.4 % | |
| Total expenditure | 21,944.6 | 22,601.1 | 656.5 | 2.9 % | |
| Net favourable/(unfavourable) | $ 833.8 | $ – | 833.8 | 3.7 % | |
As indicated in the above table, the conventional service has a net favourable operating budget performance to-date of 3.7% or $833,800. An explanation of the variances is set out below.
Revenue
- favourable operating revenues of $272,900 due mainly to higher interest income earned, noting $173,900 relates to interest earned on reserve funds and is highlighted below as an unfavourable contribution to reserves; and
- unfavourable transfers from reserves of $96,500 as the required contribution to cover insurance claims is less than budgeted, noting this decrease is offset below as a favourable insurance cost.
Expenditures
- favourable personnel costs of $264,800 due primarily to the timing of filling vacant positions;
- favourable direct bus maintenance expenditures of $153,500 due mainly to the timing of completing engine work;
- favourable fuel costs of $292,700 due mainly to lower than budgeted diesel fuel prices;
- favourable insurance costs of $96,500 due to lower than budgeted claim costs; and
- unfavourable contributions to reserves of $173,900 due to the increase in interest income earned on reserves, noted above in operating revenue.
Ridership
The table below sets out actual to budget ridership performance as well as a comparison to the same period in the previous year.
Ridership Performance – Actual vs. Budget Three Months Ending March 31, 2024 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Variance | % Variance | 2023 Actual | % Variance |
| Total Passengers (000’s) | 5,378.7 | 5,295.2 | 83.5 | 1.6 % | 4,729.5 | 13.7 % |
| Average Fare | $ 1.969 | $ 2.011 | $ (0.043) | (2.1)% | $ 1.998 | (1.5)% |
| Revenue Service Hours | 177.3 | 181.2 | 3.8 | 2.1 % | 167.7 | 5.7 % |
| Rides/Rev Service Hour | 30.3 | 29.2 | 1.1 | 3.8 % | 28.2 | 7.6 % |
Administration will continue to monitor the operating budget performance, including ridership, on a monthly basis.
Recommended by:
Mike Gregor, Director of Finance
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager