Staff Report #9
May 29, 2024
To All Commissioners
Re: Financial Update – Conventional Transit Services – Operating Budget – April 30, 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 four-month period ending April 30, 2024. 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, 2024 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Amount Better (Worse) | Percent Better (Worse) | |
| Revenue | |||||
| Transportation | $ 13,968.2 | $ 14,021.7 | $ (53.5) | (0.4)% | |
| Operating | 1,030.4 | 670.6 | 359.8 | 53.7 % | |
| Transfers from reserves | 420.5 | 533.7 | (113.2) | (21.2)% | |
| Province-provincial gas tax | 3,733.6 | 3,733.6 | – | 0.0 % | |
| City of London | 11,157.4 | 11,157.4 | – | 0.0 % | |
| Total revenue | 30,310.1 | 30,117.0 | 193.1 | 0.6 % | |
| Expenditure | |||||
| Personnel cost | 20,127.5 | 20,403.9 | 276.4 | 1.4 % | |
| Direct bus maintenance | 3,151.3 | 3,185.5 | 34.2 | 1.1 % | |
| Fuel | 3,167.4 | 3,540.3 | 372.9 | 10.5 % | |
| Facility costs | 1,289.7 | 1,322.6 | 32.9 | 2.5 % | |
| Insurance | 261.2 | 374.4 | 113.2 | 30.2 % | |
| Contribution to reserves | 474.3 | 249.6 | (224.7) | (90.0)% | |
| All other material expense | 1,059.8 | 1,040.7 | (19.1) | (1.8)% | |
| Total expenditure | 29,531.2 | 30,117.0 | 585.8 | 1.9 % | |
| Net favourable/(unfavourable) | $ 778.9 | $ – | $ 778.9 | 2.6 % | |
As indicated in the above table, the conventional service has a net favourable operating budget performance to-date of 2.6% or $778,900. An explanation of the variances is set out below.
Revenue
- favourable operating revenues of $359,800 due mainly to higher interest income earned, noting $224,700 relates to interest earned on reserve funds and is highlighted below as an unfavourable contribution to reserves; and
- unfavourable transfers from reserves of $113,200 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 $276,400 due primarily to the timing of filling vacant positions;
- favourable fuel costs of $372,900 due mainly to lower than budgeted diesel fuel prices;
- favourable insurance costs of $113,200 due to lower than budgeted claim costs; and
- unfavourable contributions to reserves of $224,700 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, 2024 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Variance | % Variance | 2023 Actual | % Variance |
| Total Passengers (000’s) | 7,015.2 | 6,975.9 | 39.3 | 0.6 % | 6,152.7 | 14.0 % |
| Average Fare | $ 1.991 | $ 2.019 | $ (0.028) | (1.4)% | $ 1.997 | (0.3)% |
| Revenue Service Hours | 238.1 | 241.7 | 3.5 | 1.5 % | 222.5 | 7.0 % |
| Rides/Rev Service Hour | 29.5 | 28.9 | 0.6 | 2.1 % | 27.6 | 6.5 % |
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