Steve Wood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >Adrian Stott wrote: > >> And if all the towpath moorings are already occupied when you get >> there? > >Moor somewhere else. Better luck next time. Paying extra to the licence >fee for a short term towpath mooring is unacceptable under any >circumstances.
Right. Suppose I'm a retired visitor from Australia, taking my once-in-a-lifetime cruise on the UK waterways. I especially want to visit my aged sister, who lives in Braunston, and I need to be right in town because my wife walks with two canes. I'm going to be really satisfied by finding "Moorings Full - Better Luck Next Time" sign all along the towpath, aren't I? Especially when I would have been quite happy to pay a couple of quid to moor close to the town. When the demand for something exceeds supply, the best method of dealing with the situation *is* usually to put a market-clearing price on it. Contrary to your belief, this isn't an example of arrogant gouging. It is actually the way to ensure that those with the greatest need get the supply. It gives everyone a choice, instead of the moorings always going those who are happy to tie up at 2 p.m. every day (unlike most hirers, who want to see rather more of the waterway than that allows. Too bad for them, eh?). There are obviously quite a few boaters who agree with you, though. I have tried to puzzle out why. I've come to the conclusion that it is because you know how to work the current system, and get the moorings you want when you want. If there were a visitor mooring charge in busy locations, you might find that impossible to get round, though. With money at stake, the lackadaisical enforcement of time limits would be replaced by proper monitoring. If you didn't pay (a small amount) initially, you would pay (a much larger amount) when you were caught. Your knowledge of the waterways would no longer be an advantage in this situation. Maybe that's unfair, and you are actually objecting on principle. In that case, I suggest you should rethink the principle, because your conclusion is highly questionable IMHO. Unavailability, the injustice of unauthorised over-staying, etc. are actually much worse than a mooring fee. First-come-first-served is actually highly inconvenient to the majority. OTOH, market pricing can ensure there are always some moorings available, for as long as you want them, everywhere. Lack of pricing works only where supply is very large compared to the demand. The supply of moorings is not very large, so that approach is simply no longer appropriate. Think of it this way. The licence does indeed give you the right to moor. Subject to your paying a mooring fee in busy locations. Adrian Adrian Stott 07956-299966
