BW's Club Class moorings

British Waterways have started their Mooring Tenders scheme: https://mooringtenders.waterscape.com

It's a 'sealed-bid' auction to find out how much people are willing to pay for permanent moorings on the main line of the canal (as opposed to private marinas basins).  It's a Can Pay, Will Pay attitude, a sort of Club Class I guess.

I'm not sure if this is intrinsically wrong, any more that it's 'wrong' that house prices are higher in some parts than others.  If more people want to live in a particular area, ergo, prices will go up.  People are moving on to the waterways simply because it's cheaper; I get emails almost every week from strangers (often with foreign names) who want to live on a boat simply because they see it as a cheaper option, not because they want to come on the canals.  Poles might soon outnumber poles on London narrowboats!

The IWA will probably tell you my view is simplistic. They say it's "flawed and un-just for the following reasons:

• It is unfair to those who have been patiently waiting on lists, gradually working their way to the top.
• It is socially unjust, with the less well-off and elderly being priced off the system by the highest bidder.

I think that point of view is a little too simplistic too, but it's all part of the us-and-them posturing.  Here's the link to the IWA campaign against the Moorings Trial.  Thankfully, their petition is organised by the IWA themselves and is worth supporting if you agree with them.  It's not one of those silly cynical New Labour modern government 'No.10 spin petitions'.

The sealed bid auction is where you submit your bid without knowing what other bids people are likely to make.  In theory, you would then bid the maximum you could afford (or possibly a bit more) without getting carried away by bidding frenzy.  Any misjudgement you make is likely to be made coldly.  (So if you overbid and then can't afford it, cold economics says it's your own fault.)

According to classic 'game theory', this ought to give the same result as the 'Dutch auction' (whereby you post an outrageously expensive price, and then lowers it until someone expresses willingness to pay). 

In developing the new moorings auction system, I wonder if BW learned from the last time they asked outside help in setting boating prices.  A couple of years ago they sought advice from Oxera Consulting, who borrowed BW's watch to tell boaters the time.  I don't think the resulting scheme was put into operation. At the time I wrote about it here.  (And then Oxera put me on their Christmas card list!) 

I'd feel perhaps a little more confident of the new Mooring Tenders scheme were it not for the company charged with developing the mechanics of the scheme, Alchemy Interactive.  Read their company profile - did they really write it with a straight face?   Their "down-t0-earth, plain-speaking approach" (sic) reads like everything that's wrong with modern business.  This can't inspire confidence.

Alchemy Interactive is a specialist New Media Agency providing innovative solutions for companies and organisations looking to maximise their marketing strategies and interact with their target markets, using new media capability. Our team of highly skilled professionals empower our clients' web capability, to integrate with any traditional marketing tactics they may employ.

Since 1998, we've been providing business with strategic solutions to achieve their Internet, online, hosting and site management objectives. The challenge to come up with new and innovative ways to answer our clients' requirements has been met through adopting a 'can do' attitude allied to a continued programme of research & development that empowers our in-house technical capabilities for the benefit of our client's projects.

Although our ideas are innovative and creative, our feet are firmly on the ground. Alchemy Interactive employ a down-to-earth, plain-speaking approach to ensure that projects keep moving towards achieving stipulated targets.

Our company ethos is simple - through a 'user-friendly' and proactive approach, we partner our clients in achieving campaign objectives. We aim to provide an added-value service, through consultative communication and implementation managed with objectives in mind.

Comments

[Richard Murphy]

I am an architecture student currently in the process of designing a multi-purpose building on a mooring around the Regent's canal (Kingsland Basin) and I would appreciate your expertise in regard to finding out what the basic amenities of Mooring's around British water ways are and for example what amenities would be beneficial to existing sites that are not already there Recycling units etc...
Any ideas, suggestions or basic information would be great.

[Kevin]

I see they work for 'constipation advice' and 'Anusol'. I can see why BW chose them