Staff Report #7
September 25, 2024
To All Commissioners
Re: Financial Update – Specialized Transit Services – Operating Budget – August 31, 2024
Recommendation
That the report be NOTED and FILED.
Background
Set out in the table below is the Statement of Operations for Specialized Transit Services for the eight-month period ending August 31, 2024. The statement sets out actual to budget performance for the period.
London Transit Commission Statement of Operations – Specialized Transit Services Eight Months Ending August 31, 2024 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Amount Better (Worse) | Percent Better (Worse) | |
| Revenue | |||||
| Transportation | $ 506.5 | $ 551.8 | $ (45.3) | (8.2)% | |
| City of London | 8,905.1 | 8,905.1 | – | 0.0 % | |
| Total revenue | 9,411.6 | 9,456.9 | (45.3) | (0.5)% | |
| Expenditure | |||||
| Personnel cost | 966.3 | 997.6 | 31.3 | 3.1 % | |
| Contract service cost | 7,901.3 | 8,189.4 | 288.1 | 3.5 % | |
| All other material expense | 258.9 | 269.9 | 11.0 | 4.1 % | |
| Total expenditure | 9,126.6 | 9,456.9 | 330.3 | 3.5 % | |
| Net favourable/(unfavourable) | $ 284.9 | $ – | $ 284.9 | 3.0 % | |
As indicated in the above table, the service has a net favourable operating budget performance to date of 3.0% or $284,900. An explanation of the variances is set out below.
Net Operating Costs
- unfavourable transportation revenue of $45,300 due to lower ridership than planned;
- favourable personnel costs of $31,300 due to timing of vacancies and less than anticipated overtime; and
- favourable contract service costs of $288,100 due to lower than budgeted service hours utilized.
Ridership
The following table sets out actual to budget ridership and other performance related measures as well as a comparison to the same period in the previous year.
Ridership and Other Statistics Actual vs. Budget Eight Months Ending August 31, 2024 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Variance | % Variance | 2023 Actual | % Variance | |
| Eligible passenger trips | 184,834 | 211,800 | (26,966) | (12.7)% | 149,491 | 23.6 % | |
| Attendant/companion trips | 19,657 | 17,200 | 2,457 | 14.3 % | 11,185 | 75.7 % | |
| Total Trips | 204,491 | 229,000 | (24,509) | (10.7)% | 160,676 | 27.3 % | |
| Average fare | $ 2.477 | $ 2.410 | $ 0.067 | 2.8 % | $ 1.959 | 26.4 % | |
| Service Hours | 110,820 | 114,507 | (3,688) | (3.2)% | 84,270 | 31.5 % | |
| Total trips per service hour | 1.85 | 2.00 | (0.15) | (7.7)% | 1.91 | (3.2)% | |
Administration will continue to monitor the operating budget performance reporting on same on a monthly basis including providing recommendations as may be appropriate.
Recommended by:
Mike Gregor, Director of Finance
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager