Staff Report #9
May 31, 2023
To All Commissioners
Re: Financial Update – Conventional Transit Services – Operating Budget – April 30, 2023
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 four-month period ending April 30, 2023. The statement sets out actual to budget performance for the period.
London Transit Commission Statement of Operations – Conventional Transit Services Four Months Ending April 30, 2023 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Amount Better (Worse) | Percent Better (Worse) | |
| Revenue | |||||
| Transportation | $ 11,988.1 | $ 12,053.0 | $ (64.9) | (0.5)% | |
| Operating | 1,082.6 | 913.0 | 169.6 | 18.6% | |
| Transfers from reserves | 2,625.1 | 2,683.2 | (58.1) | (2.2)% | |
| Province-provincial gas tax | 2,956.9 | 2,956.9 | – | 0.0 % | |
| City of London | 8,999.6 | 8,999.6 | – | 0.0 % | |
| Total revenue | 27,652.3 | 27,605.7 | 46.6 | (0.2)% | |
| Expenditure | |||||
| Personnel cost | 18,059.4 | 18,235.1 | 175.7 | 1.0 % | |
| Direct bus maintenance | 2,660.1 | 2,620.4 | (39.7) | (1.5)% | |
| Fuel | 3,210.0 | 3,383.5 | 173.6 | 5.1 % | |
| Facility costs | 1,499.7 | 1,570.3 | 70.6 | 4.5 % | |
| Insurance | 316.3 | 374.4 | 58.1 | 15.5 % | |
| Contribution to reserves | 535.2 | 365.7 | (169.6) | (46.4)% | |
| All other material expense | 1,063.7 | 1,056.3 | (7.4) | (0.7)% | |
| Total expenditure | 27,344.4 | 27,605.7 | 261.3 | 0.9 % | |
| Net favourable/(unfavourable) | $ 307.8 | $ – | 307.8 | 1.1 % | |
As indicated in the above table, the conventional service has a net favourable operating budget performance to-date of 1.1% or $307,800. An explanation of the variances is set out below.
Revenue
- unfavourable transportation revenue of $64,900 due to slightly lower than budgeted ridership, noting the 2023 budget was updated to reflect the post-COVID trends that had been emerging since last September; and
- favourable operating revenues of $169,600 due to the continued climb in interest rates, resulting in higher than budgeted interest income, noting this increase is offset below as unfavourable contributions to reserves.
Expenditures
- favourable personnel costs of $175,700 due primarily to the timing of filling vacant positions;
- favourable fuel costs of $173,600 due mainly to slightly lower than budgeted diesel fuel prices; and
- unfavourable contributions to reserves of $169,600 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 Four Months Ending April 30, 2023 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Variance | % Variance | 2022 Actual | % Variance |
| Total Passengers (000’s) | 6,152.7 | 6,272.8 | (120.1) | (1.9)% | 3,688.9 | 66.8 % |
| Average Fare | $ 1.933 | $ 1.921 | $ 0.011 | 0.6 % | $ 2.411 | (19.8)% |
| Revenue Service Hours | 222.5 | 223.3 | (0.7) | (0.3)% | 207.0 | 7.5 % |
| Rides/Rev Service Hour | 27.6 | 28.1 | (0.4) | (1.6)% | 17.8 | 72.9 % |
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