Staff Report #7
September 30, 2020
To All Commissioners
Re: Financial Update – Specialized Transit Services – Operating Budget – August 31, 2020
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 eight-month period ending August 31, 2020. The statement sets out actual to budget performance for the period.
London Transit Commission
Statement of Operations – Specialized Transit Services Eight Months Ending August 31, 2020 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Amount Better (Worse) | Explanation | Percent Better (Worse) | ||
| General Operating | COVID Impact | ||||||
| Revenue | |||||||
| Transportation | $ 165.8 | $ 485.9 | $ (320.1) | $ – | $ (320.1) | (65.9)% | |
| Province-provincial gas tax | 1,153.9 | 1,153.9 | – | – | – | 0.0 % | |
| City of London | 5,006.9 | 5,006.9 | – | – | – | 0.0 % | |
| Total revenue | 6,326.6 | 6,646.7 | (320.1) | – | (320.1) | (4.8)% | |
| Expenditure | |||||||
| Personnel cost | 694.1 | 777.3 | 83.2 | 38.8 | 44.4 | 10.7% | |
| Contract service cost | 4,921.2 | 5,660.7 | 739.5 | 45.3 | 694.2 | 13.1% | |
| All other material expense | 202.8 | 208.7 | 5.9 | 5.9 | – | 2.8% | |
| Total expenditure | 5,818.1 | 6,646.7 | 828.6 | 90.0 | 738.6 | 12.5% | |
| Net favourable/(unfavourable) | $ 508.5 | $ – | $ 508.5 | $ 90.0 | $ 418.5 | 7.7% | |
As indicated, the service has a net favourable operating budget performance to-date of 7.7% or $508,500. Of this favourable variance, $418,500 is attributable to the impacts of COVID-19 and $90,000 is due to favourable general operating expenditures. An explanation of the variances is set out below.
The impacts attributed to COVID-19 in the table above are based on the assumptions of administration that have been applied from the onset of the pandemic. Some of these impacts apply to March of 2020, which is not part of the period covered by the Safe Restart Program. Additionally, given uncertainties around eligible expenditures relating to the programs, it has not yet been confirmed that all of the impacts currently being included in this column will be considered eligible for the funding. With respect to the variances that have been attributed to COVID-19 at this time, the following explanations are provided:
Revenue
- unfavourable transportation revenue of $320,100 due to the implementation of free fares, corresponding with rear door boarding from March 20th to August 18th. Prior to the impact of COVID-19, transportation revenue had been performing to budget through mid-March.
Expenditures
- favourable labour costs of $83,200 relating to a reduction in labour hours compared to budget due to both general operating and the COVID-19 situation; and
- favourable contract service costs attributable to the reduced demand on service and thus fewer service hours due to COVID-19.
Ridership
The table below 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
| Description | Actual | Budget | Variance | % Variance | 2019 Actual | % Variance | |
| Eligible passenger trips | 97,237 | 217,300 | (120,063) | (55.3)% | 197,571 | (50.8)% | |
| Attendant/companion trips | 10,184 | 25,000 | (14,816) | (59.3)% | 23,420 | (56.5)% | |
| Total Trips | 107,421 | 242,300 | (134,879) | (55.7)% | 220,991 | (51.4)% | |
| Average fare | $ 1.543 | 2.005 | $ (0.462) | (23.0)% | $ 1.702 | (9.3)% | |
| Service Hours | 89,395 | 103,016 | 13,621 | 13.2 % | 97,270 | 8.1 % | |
| EPT per service hour | 1.09 | 2.11 | (1.02) | (48.4)% | 2.03 | (46.4)% | |
| Total trips per service hour | 1.20 | 2.35 | (1.15) | (48.9)% | 2.27 | (47.1)% | |
| Total Registrants | 11,032 | 10,691 | 3.2 % | ||||
As noted above, the lower than budget eligible passenger trips is directly related to the COVID-19 outbreak as trips were on budget prior to that point.
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