Staff Report #7
October 27, 2025
To All Commissioners
Re: Financial Update – Conventional Transit Services – Operating Budget – September 30, 2025
Recommendation
That the report be RECEIVED for information.
Background
Set out in the table below is the Statement of Operations for Conventional Transit Services for the nine-month period ending September 30, 2025. The statement sets out actual to budget performance for the period.
London Transit Commission Statement of Operations – Conventional Transit Services Nine Months Ending September 30, 2025 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Amount Better (Worse) | Percent Better (Worse) | |
| Revenue | |||||
| Transportation | $ 29,127.1 | $ 29,014.4 | $ 112.7 | 0.4 % | |
| Operating | 1,681.5 | 1,540.9 | 140.6 | 9.1 % | |
| Transfers from reserves | 455.4 | 841.4 | (386.0) | (45.9)% | |
| Province-provincial gas tax | 7,016.0 | 7,491.0 | (475.0) | (6.3)% | |
| City of London | 36,627.5 | 36,627.5 | – | 0.0 % | |
| Total revenue | 74,907.4 | 75,515.2 | (607.8) | (0.8)% | |
| Expenditure | |||||
| Personnel cost | 49,196.6 | 50,166.6 | 970.0 | 1.9 % | |
| Direct bus maintenance | 7,482.2 | 7,221.5 | (260.7) | (3.6)% | |
| Fuel | 6,294.6 | 7,787.3 | 1,492.7 | 19.2 % | |
| Facility costs | 2,808.4 | 2,778.1 | (30.3) | (1.1)% | |
| Insurance | 3,715.8 | 4,338.3 | 622.5 | 14.3 % | |
| Contribution to reserves | 545.5 | 486.2 | (59.3) | (12.2)% | |
| All other material expense | 2,701.2 | 2,737.2 | 36.0 | 1.3 % | |
| Total expenditure | 72,744.2 | 75,515.2 | 2,771.0 | 3.7 % | |
| Net favourable/(unfavourable) | $ 2,163.2 | $ – | $ 2,163.2 | 2.9 % | |
As indicated in the above table, the conventional service has a net favourable operating budget performance to date of 2.9% or $2,163,200. An explanation of the key variances is set out below.
Revenue
- reduced transfers from reserves of $386,000 as the required contribution to cover insurance claims is less than budgeted, noting this decrease is offset below within the favourable insurance expenditure; and
- reduced Provincial Gas Tax allocation of $475,000 due to the 3.7% reduction in total expenditures.
Expenditures
- favourable personnel costs of $970,000 due primarily to the ongoing vacant positions in the Fleet & Facilities department as well as lower than budgeted service hours in Operations;
- unfavourable direct bus maintenance costs of $260,700 directly related to the outsourcing of repair work due to mechanical staff shortages;
- favourable fuel costs of $1,492,700 due mainly to lower than budgeted diesel fuel prices; and
- favourable insurance costs of $622,500 due to the lower than anticipated insurance program premium renewal ($236,600), as well lower than budgeted liability claim costs ($386,000) as noted above.
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 Nine Months Ending September 30, 2025 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Variance | % Variance | 2024 Actual | % Variance |
| Total Passengers (000’s) | 13,112.9 | 13,194.2 | (81.3) | (0.6)% | 14,240.8 | (7.9)% |
| Average Fare | $ 2.221 | $ 2.199 | $ 0.022 | 1.0 % | $ 2.001 | 11.0 % |
| Revenue Service Hours | 530.6 | 542.5 | (11.8) | (2.2)% | 525.6 | 0.9 % |
| Rides/Rev Service Hour | 24.7 | 24.3 | 0.4 | 1.6 % | 27.1 | (8.8)% |
Ridership is just slightly below the year-to-date budget level but 7.9% lower than 2024 levels for the same period due mainly to the reduction in tuition pass riders related to the declining enrollment of international students.
2025 service hours are slightly below budget due to limitations in bus availability. The 0.9% 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