Staff Report #7
November 27, 2024
To All Commissioners
Re: Financial Update – Specialized Transit Services – Operating Budget – October 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 ten-month period ending October 31, 2024. The statement sets out actual to budget performance for the period.
London Transit Commission Statement of Operations – Specialized Transit Services Ten Months Ending October 31, 2024 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Amount Better (Worse) | Percent Better (Worse) | |
| Revenue | |||||
| Transportation | $ 639.7 | $ 696.0 | $ (56.3) | (8.1)% | |
| City of London | 11,262.5 | 11,285.2 | – | 0.0 % | |
| Total revenue | 11,902.2 | 11,981.2 | (56.3) | (0.5)% | |
| Expenditure | |||||
| Personnel cost | 1,187.8 | 1,258.0 | 70.2 | 5.6 % | |
| Contract service cost | 9,927.4 | 10,400.2 | 472.8 | 4.5 % | |
| All other material expense | 287.5 | 300.3 | 12.8 | 4.2 % | |
| Total expenditure | 11,402.7 | 11,958.5 | 555.8 | 4.6 % | |
| Net favourable/(unfavourable) | $ 499.5 | $ – | $ 499.5 | 4.2 % | |
As indicated in the above table, the service has a net favourable operating budget performance to date of 4.2% or $499,500. An explanation of the variances is set out below.
Net Operating Costs
- unfavourable transportation revenue of $56,300 due to lower ridership than planned;
- favourable personnel costs of $70,200 due to timing of vacancies and less than anticipated overtime; and
- favourable contract service costs of $472,800 due to lower than budgeted service hours delivered ($330,900), and favourable contractual rates and penalties ($141,900)
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 Ten Months Ending October 31, 2024 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Variance | % Variance | 2023 Actual | % Variance | |
| Eligible passenger trips | 233,938 | 267,100 | (33,162) | (12.4)% | 189,024 | 23.8 % | |
| Attendant/companion trips | 25,329 | 21,700 | 3,629 | 16.7 % | 14,702 | 72.3 % | |
| Total Trips | 259,267 | 288,800 | (29,533) | (10.2)% | 203,726 | 27.3 % | |
| Average fare | $ 2.467 | $ 2.410 | $ 0.057 | 2.4 % | $ 1.980 | 24.6 % | |
| Service Hours | 139,544 | 144,130 | (4,486) | (3.2)% | 107,147 | 30.2 % | |
| Total trips per service hour | 1.86 | 2.00 | (0.14) | (7.1)% | 1.90 | (2.3)% | |
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