"Adrian Stott" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message > BW has to optimise its income. It has no choice, because at present > its revenue is less than it needs to run its waterways. > > In light of under-support by the government, it therefore has to > maximise its income from boaters.
Thats where its wrong there should be more govenment funding and not giving all to the farmers. When they are talking billions to fund a collapesed private bank that should have been left to go and they cant get a few million to support the waterways its a sorry state of affairs. > > If it raises the level of its charges to boaters too much, it surely > will pass the point of diminishing returns. However, the fact that > the number of boats continue to increase shows that at present that > level is (probably quite a bit) below that point. Thats as may be, it is already cheaper to have 2 weeks on a barge in Ireland than to keep a boat in the UK. Not to mention holidays in the Med where you could take a month away for what it costs to keep a boat here > > Which means, like it or not, that BW is extremely likely to raise its > charges, and to keep on doing so. However, I think it is unfair to > characterise this as "thieving". I'm afraid it is actually > "surviving". > > As others have noted, this aactually won't mean a decrease in the > number of boats on the waterways (and thus, not of boatbuilders > either). However, it is likely to mean that some now boating will > leave (to be replaced by others). That's a very different topic, > though. Possibly not a decrease in numbers but a great increase in those that are using it as cheap housing with not a care for the waterways they are floating on. Julian
