Adrian Stott wrote: > In other words, for BW it is fixed costs that count the most, indeed > almost entirely.
I'm sure that I'm not the only one who initially thought that this was questionable. It seems logical that the more something is used, the more it needs to be maintained. However, there is a converse argument here that is useful: What BW are saying is that the additional cost of having boats onto the canals is small compared to the fixed cost of maintaining their infrastructure for everyone - including walkers, anglers, cyclists etc. Probably the best argument I've seen so far for NOT increasing the cost to boaters and pressing DEFRA for more cash from the central pot... On the subject of charging based on use, the end of red diesel has provided a real opportunity for BW to do this by laying claim to the additional revenue generated which they can very strongly argue that they will be generating. Not that it's going to happen of course. I have a horrible feeling that next year will be the last year of boating for a lot of people, I may even be one of them :-( Steve NB Bream
