Staff Report #9
November 24, 2021
To All Commissioners
Re: Financial Update – Specialized Transit Services – Operating Budget – October 31, 2021
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 ten-month period ending October 31, 2021. The statement sets out actual to budget performance for the period.
London Transit Commission Statement of Operations – Specialized Transit Services Ten Months Ending October 31, 2021 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Amount Better (Worse) | Percent Better (Worse) | ||
| Revenue | ||||||
| Transportation | $ 264.2 | $ 275.2 | $ (11.0) | (4.0)% | ||
| Province-provincial gas tax | 1,421.4 | 1,421.4 | – | 0.0 % | ||
| City of London | 7,302.8 | 7,302.8 | – | 0.0 % | ||
| Total revenue | 8,988.4 | 8,999.4 | (11.0) | (0.1)% | ||
| Expenditure | ||||||
| Personnel cost | 912.8 | 990.3 | 77.5 | 7.8 % | ||
| Contract service cost | 6,333.0 | 6,764.0 | 431.0 | 6.4 % | ||
| All other material expense | 236.8 | 235.4 | (1.4) | (0.6)% | ||
| Total expenditure | 7,482.6 | 7,989.7 | 507.1 | 6.3 % | ||
| Net cost | 1,505.8 | 1,009.7 | 496.1 | 6.2 % | ||
| Safe Restart program(1) | (1,429.5) | (1,009.7) | (419.8) | (5.3)% | ||
| Net favourable/(unfavourable) | $ 76.2 | $ – | $ 76.2 | 1.0 % | ||
Notes: (1) Actual Safe Restart allocation subject to final reconciliation and submission of claims to the Province
As indicated in the above table, the service has a net favourable operating budget performance to-date of 1.0% or $76,200. An explanation of the variances is set out below.
Net Operating Costs
- unfavourable transportation revenue of $11,000 due to lower ridership than anticipated;
- favourable personnel costs of $77,500 due to timing of vacancies and less than anticipated overtime; and
- favourable contract service costs of $431,000 due to less service hours utilized, given the budget assumed levels would return to 100% in September, but have yet to do so.
COVID-19 related variances will be monitored in connection with the Safe Restart funding and overall Safe Restart Reserve Fund and separate reports will be provided detailing actual submissions to the Province.
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 Ten Months Ending October 31, 2021 (000’s omitted)
| Description | Actual | Budget | Variance | % Variance | 2020 Actual | % Variance | |
| Eligible passenger trips | 124,550 | 122,300 | 2,250 | 1.8 % | 120,678 | 3.2 % | |
| Attendant/companion trips | 8,546 | 14,300 | (5,754) | (40.2)% | 11,850 | (27.9)% | |
| Total Trips | 133,096 | 136,600 | (3,504) | (2.6)% | 132,528 | 0.4 % | |
| Average fare | $ 1.985 | 2.015 | $ (0.030) | (1.5)% | $ 1.434 | 38.4 % | |
| Service Hours | 101,572 | 109,003 | 7,431 | 6.8 % | 109,849 | (7.5)% | |
| EPT per service hour | 1.23 | 1.12 | 0.10 | 9.3 % | 1.10 | 11.6 % | |
| Total trips per service hour | 1.31 | 1.25 | 0.06 | 4.6 % | 1.21 | 8.6 % | |
| Total Registrants | 11,860 | 11,315 | 4.8 % | ||||
Total trips were slightly less than anticipated, and as noted above, the budget in September was set anticipating a return to full service. The onset of the pandemic and its impacts in March 2020 of last year, coupled with the ongoing ridership fluctuations since that time complicate the ability to compare 2020 results to those experienced in 2021.
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