Staff Report #14
May 9, 2025
To All Commissioners
Re: Financial Update – Conventional Transit Services – Operating Budget – March 31, 2025
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, 2025. 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, 2025 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Amount Better (Worse) | Percent Better (Worse) | |
| Revenue | |||||
| Transportation | $ 11,022.2 | $ 10,970.0 | $ 52.2 | 0.5 % | |
| Operating | 582.6 | 555.2 | 27.4 | 4.9 % | |
| Transfers from reserves | 246.3 | 281.0 | (34.7) | (12.3)% | |
| Province-provincial gas tax | 2,496.6 | 2,496.6 | – | 0.0 % | |
| City of London | 9,586.8 | 9,586.8 | – | 0.0 % | |
| Total revenue | 23,934.5 | 23,889.6 | 44.9 | 0.2 % | |
| Expenditure | |||||
| Personnel cost | 15,720.7 | 15,933.7 | 213.0 | 1.3 % | |
| Direct bus maintenance | 2,742.8 | 2,662.3 | (80.5) | (3.0)% | |
| Fuel | 2,475.9 | 2,602.3 | 126.4 | 4.9 % | |
| Facility costs | 1,234.9 | 1,175.6 | (59.3) | (5.0)% | |
| Insurance | 246.3 | 281.0 | 34.7 | 12.3 % | |
| Contribution to reserves | 180.8 | 177.7 | (3.1) | (1.7)% | |
| All other material expense | 1,030.2 | 1,057.0 | 26.8 | 2.5 % | |
| Total expenditure | 23,631.5 | 23,889.6 | 258.1 | 1.1 % | |
| Net favourable/(unfavourable) | $ 303.0 | $ – | $ 303.0 | 1.3 % | |
As indicated in the above table, the conventional service has a net favourable operating budget performance to-date of 1.3% or $303,000. An explanation of the variances is set out below.
Revenue
- favourable transportation revenues of $52,200 due mainly to higher than budgeted ridership;
- favourable operating revenues of $27,400 due to higher interest income earned, noting $3,100 relates to interest earned on reserve funds and is highlighted below as an unfavourable contribution to reserves; and
- unfavourable transfers from reserves of $34,700 as the required contribution to cover insurance claims is $34,700 less than budgeted, noting this decrease is offset below within the favourable insurance cost.
Expenditures
- favourable personnel costs of $213,000 due primarily to the timing of filling vacant positions in the Fleet & Facilities department;
- unfavourable direct bus maintenance costs of $80,500 directly related to the outsourcing of repair work due to mechanical staff shortages;
- favourable fuel costs of $126,400 due to lower than budgeted diesel fuel prices;
- unfavourable facility costs of $59,300 due mainly to the timing of purchasing bulk cleaning supplies, and higher than budgeted contracted services for snow removal; and
- favourable insurance costs of $34,700 due to lower than budgeted claim costs.
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, 2025 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Variance | % Variance | 2024 Actual | % Variance |
| Total Passengers (000’s) | 5,016.4 | 4,955.0 | 61.4 | 1.2 % | 5,378.7 | (6.7)% |
| Average Fare | $ 2.197 | $ 2.214 | $ (0.017) | (0.8)% | $ 1.999 | 9.9 % |
| Revenue Service Hours | 181.3 | 184.9 | (3.6) | (2.0)% | 177.3 | 2.2 % |
| Rides/Rev Service Hour | 27.7 | 26.8 | 0.9 | 3.3 % | 30.3 | (8.8)% |
Ridership is slightly above the year-to-date budgeted level, with the average fare slightly lower than budget given a higher actual mix of tuition riders as compared to pass and ticket riders. As anticipated during the budget recosting process, ridership is lower than levels in 2024, due mainly to the reduction in tuition pass riders (international students).
2025 service hours are slightly below budget due to limitations in bus availability for tripper buses. The 2.2% increase in service hours compared to 2024 actual is due to the implementation of the annualized 2024 service growth.
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