Staff Report #7
July 29, 2020
To All Commissioners
Re: Financial Update – Specialized Transit Services – Operating Budget – June 30, 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 six-month period ending June 30, 2020. The statement sets out actual to budget performance for the period.
London Transit Commission
Statement of Operations – Specialized Transit Services
Six Months Ending June 30, 2020
(000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Amount Better (Worse) | Explanation | Percent Better (Worse) | ||
| General Operating | COVID Impact | ||||||
| Revenue | |||||||
| Transportation | $ 156.7 | $ 365.5 | $ (208.8) | $ – | $ (208.8) | (57.1)% | |
| Province-provincial gas tax | 856.3 | 865.3 | – | – | – | 0.0 % | |
| City of London | 3,608.7 | 3,608.7 | – | – | – | 0.0 % | |
| Total revenue | 4,630.7 | 4,839.5 | (208.8) | – | (208.8) | (4.3)% | |
| Expenditure | |||||||
| Personnel cost | 522.1 | 572.4 | 50.3 | 10.9 | 39.4 | 8.8% | |
| Contract service cost | 3,732.5 | 4,179.8 | 447.3 | 45.3 | 401.9 | 10.7% | |
| All other material expense | 77.2 | 87.3 | 10.1 | 10.1 | – | 11.6% | |
| Total expenditure | 4,331.9 | 4,839.5 | 507.6 | 66.3 | 441.3 | 10.5% | |
| Net favourable/(unfavourable) | $ 298.8 | $ – | $ 298.8 | $ 66.3 | $ 232.5 | 6.2% | |
As indicated, the service has a net favourable operating budget performance to-date of 6.2% or $298,800. Of this favourable variance, $232,500 is attributable to the impacts of COVID-19 and $66,300 is due to favourable general operating expenditures. An explanation of the variances is set out below.
Revenue
- unfavourable transportation revenue of $208,800 due to the implementation of free fares, corresponding with rear door boarding on conventional service. Prior to the impact of COVID-19, transportation revenue had been performing to budget through mid-March.
Expenditures
- favourable labour costs of $50,300 relating to a reduction in labour hours compared to budget due mainly to 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 | 80,441 | 162,600 | (82,159) | (50.5)% | 149,077 | (46.0)% | |
| Attendant/companion trips | 8,653 | 18,700 | (10,047) | (53.7)% | 17,682 | (51.1)% | |
| Total Trips | 89,094 | 181,300 | (92,206) | (50.9)% | 166,759 | (46.6)% | |
| Average fare | $ 1.759 | 2.016 | $ (0.257) | (12.8)% | $ 1.702 | 3.3 % | |
| Service Hours | 68,861 | 77,231 | 8,370 | 10.8 % | 72,632 | 5.2 % | |
| EPT per service hour | 1.17 | 2.11 | (0.94) | (44.5)% | 2.05 | (43.1)% | |
| Total trips per service hour | 1.29 | 2.35 | (1.05) | (44.9)% | 2.30 | (43.6)% | |
| Total Registrants | 11,005 | 10,691 | 2.9 % | ||||
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