Businessman sets up private toll road to bypass closure
Discussion
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2714184/Ro...
The car-haters will be up in arms. Why can't this awful, awful entrepreneur and those sinners who will be using the toll road just accept the council as their masters and obediently drive an extra 20 miles a day until the council deigns to reopen the road sometime next century?
I mean, this might start a horrible, despicable, unthinkable trend of people thinking up clever ways of circumventing government incompetence, obstruction and control freakery. That is the sort of thing that dreams are made of (a pleasant dream if you're a right-thinking person who values freedom, but a nightmare if you're not!)
Oh, and full marks to the council for predictably using "safety" as their excuse for opposing the toll road. I guess it's "safer" to make people take a 10-mile detour instead, during which their frustration will no doubt make things "safer" still.
The businessman who set up the toll road said "If people don't want to use the road then don't." But what about those with an unstoppable urge to interfere in others' lives? Did he think of them?
The car-haters will be up in arms. Why can't this awful, awful entrepreneur and those sinners who will be using the toll road just accept the council as their masters and obediently drive an extra 20 miles a day until the council deigns to reopen the road sometime next century?
I mean, this might start a horrible, despicable, unthinkable trend of people thinking up clever ways of circumventing government incompetence, obstruction and control freakery. That is the sort of thing that dreams are made of (a pleasant dream if you're a right-thinking person who values freedom, but a nightmare if you're not!)
Oh, and full marks to the council for predictably using "safety" as their excuse for opposing the toll road. I guess it's "safer" to make people take a 10-mile detour instead, during which their frustration will no doubt make things "safer" still.
The businessman who set up the toll road said "If people don't want to use the road then don't." But what about those with an unstoppable urge to interfere in others' lives? Did he think of them?
Story said:
Businessman sets up private toll road just 340 yards long charging motorists £2 a time to bypass closed section of main road
Businessman Mike Watts decided to open the thoroughfare - made of a mix of asphalt and chippings - to bypass a closed section of the A431 between Bath and Bristol.
The Kelston Road was shut in February following a landslip and officials say that it will not be repaired until the end of the year.
But a new makeshift road, which costs £2 a time to use, re-opens the important 'back road' - which is used by commuters going between the two cities.
Local villagers in nearby Kelston have repeatedly criticised Bath & North East Somerset Council for not re-opening the main road sooner and say it has caused major traffic problems in the area.
Mr Watts said that his toll road will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with toll operators there all the time.
The businessman persuaded local farmer John Dinham to rent him his empty field next to the A431 which connects Bristol and Bath until roadworks were complete.
He hired a crew of workmen and ploughed £150,000 of his own cash into building a 340-yard long professional-standard bypass road in the field.
The road which opened yesterday is the first privately run toll road to be built since cars became a familiar sight on roads more than 100 years ago.
Drivers who will regularly use the route can bulk buy 12 toll passes for the price of ten.
However, officials say that the road does not have planning permission or safety certificates.
Mr Watts told the Western Daily Press: 'There will be some people who will be reluctant to pay the money but it is an option for people if they feel it will save them money in terms of the fuel costs and time.
'If people don't want to use the road then don't. The drive behind it is to get Bath and Bristol back on track because the impact is more far reaching than just the residents of Kelston.'
He also told the newspaper he would be applying for retrospective planning permission.
However, Bath and North East Somerset Council said that it did not support the private road and warned motorists to think twice before paying the toll.
A council spokesman said: 'It's not just the planning, it's the legal aspect of drivers using the road, and also safety.
'We appreciate the difficulties that local residents have experienced since the emergency closure and work has started to deliver a permanent solution as quickly as possible, but we will not encourage proposals that have not been proven to be safe or compliant with statutory requirements.
'The council has no details to confirm the toll road design meets safety standards and no evidence that insurances are in place for any member of the public who uses the private toll road.'
'The temporary toll road access is likely to generate a need for more traffic management on site, prolong the construction period and increase the cost of the repairs.'
The permanent repair, costing £1.5m is due to be complete by the end of 2014.
Council chiefs insist the site work 'continued to progress well'.
- The A431 Kelston Road between Bath and Bristol was shut in February following a landslip and won;t be repaired until the end of the year
- Local resident Mike Watts put up £150,000 of his own money to build bypass
- The route which opened yesterday is first privately run toll road to be built since cars became a familiar sight more than 100 years ago
- The toll road is just 340 yards in length but avoids a 10-mile detour
- Local council about road unhappy citing health and safety concerns
Businessman Mike Watts decided to open the thoroughfare - made of a mix of asphalt and chippings - to bypass a closed section of the A431 between Bath and Bristol.
The Kelston Road was shut in February following a landslip and officials say that it will not be repaired until the end of the year.
But a new makeshift road, which costs £2 a time to use, re-opens the important 'back road' - which is used by commuters going between the two cities.
Local villagers in nearby Kelston have repeatedly criticised Bath & North East Somerset Council for not re-opening the main road sooner and say it has caused major traffic problems in the area.
Mr Watts said that his toll road will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with toll operators there all the time.
The businessman persuaded local farmer John Dinham to rent him his empty field next to the A431 which connects Bristol and Bath until roadworks were complete.
He hired a crew of workmen and ploughed £150,000 of his own cash into building a 340-yard long professional-standard bypass road in the field.
The road which opened yesterday is the first privately run toll road to be built since cars became a familiar sight on roads more than 100 years ago.
Drivers who will regularly use the route can bulk buy 12 toll passes for the price of ten.
However, officials say that the road does not have planning permission or safety certificates.
Mr Watts told the Western Daily Press: 'There will be some people who will be reluctant to pay the money but it is an option for people if they feel it will save them money in terms of the fuel costs and time.
'If people don't want to use the road then don't. The drive behind it is to get Bath and Bristol back on track because the impact is more far reaching than just the residents of Kelston.'
He also told the newspaper he would be applying for retrospective planning permission.
However, Bath and North East Somerset Council said that it did not support the private road and warned motorists to think twice before paying the toll.
A council spokesman said: 'It's not just the planning, it's the legal aspect of drivers using the road, and also safety.
'We appreciate the difficulties that local residents have experienced since the emergency closure and work has started to deliver a permanent solution as quickly as possible, but we will not encourage proposals that have not been proven to be safe or compliant with statutory requirements.
'The council has no details to confirm the toll road design meets safety standards and no evidence that insurances are in place for any member of the public who uses the private toll road.'
'The temporary toll road access is likely to generate a need for more traffic management on site, prolong the construction period and increase the cost of the repairs.'
The permanent repair, costing £1.5m is due to be complete by the end of 2014.
Council chiefs insist the site work 'continued to progress well'.
Fair play to him for spotting a money making idea and going for it.
I wonder about his business model though.
He says it has cost him £150,000 to get it open and he only has until the end of 2014 to make his money.
Assuming he mans the booth 40 hours per week himself, he will still have to pay someone to sit there for the remainder of the week at a cost of £896 per week (£7 per hour), which equates to £18,816 for the rest of the year.
So his costs for the year will be at a very minimum, £168,816.
£8039 per week.
That's 4020 customers per week without fail just to break even without paying himself any wages.
575 cars per day.
I wonder if he will be that busy?
The alternative is that it's really late, I'm tired and my maths is all wrong
I wonder about his business model though.
He says it has cost him £150,000 to get it open and he only has until the end of 2014 to make his money.
Assuming he mans the booth 40 hours per week himself, he will still have to pay someone to sit there for the remainder of the week at a cost of £896 per week (£7 per hour), which equates to £18,816 for the rest of the year.
So his costs for the year will be at a very minimum, £168,816.
£8039 per week.
That's 4020 customers per week without fail just to break even without paying himself any wages.
575 cars per day.
I wonder if he will be that busy?
The alternative is that it's really late, I'm tired and my maths is all wrong
This is local to me and the papers are painting him quite badly. All the usual bs of people not being insured if they take the road etc.
I saw his setup costs too and thought he might be in trouble. It was a very busy stretch before though so who knows..
Of course they probably wont fix it by the end of 2014 anyway...
I saw his setup costs too and thought he might be in trouble. It was a very busy stretch before though so who knows..
Of course they probably wont fix it by the end of 2014 anyway...
jules_s said:
I wouldn't be surprised if that road sees 600 cars/hour at times
I've no doubt that it did, but how many of those now want to pay £2 and drive down a gravel track?The photos didn't exactly show a queue of cars at his toll booth.
He needs 25 cars an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to break even.
To be fair to the council, and after digging deeper, the work required to fix the road sounds fairly immense, with talk of 4000 tonnes of stone required just to create temporary platforms for the machinery to do the restorative work to ensure the road actually lasts this time, before they've done any retarmacing.
Plenty of people are saying "lol this guy made a road for £150k why does the old one coat £1.5m?" as if the council don't have to deal with drainage, sustainability, environmental impacts etc. There may be some wastage there, and some bureaucracy, but I doubt the cost is unreasonable given the variables.
Regards this guy's efforts - fair play to him. Wouldn't want to be him if/when someone has an accident on this road and is injured, as it's been suggested he has no PLI (another thing the council have to deal with). At the very least I'd assume people don't realise they probably aren't automatically insured on it being a private toll road ala the Ring.
edit: whoops turns out the Ring is a public derestricted toll road when open to the public.
Plenty of people are saying "lol this guy made a road for £150k why does the old one coat £1.5m?" as if the council don't have to deal with drainage, sustainability, environmental impacts etc. There may be some wastage there, and some bureaucracy, but I doubt the cost is unreasonable given the variables.
Regards this guy's efforts - fair play to him. Wouldn't want to be him if/when someone has an accident on this road and is injured, as it's been suggested he has no PLI (another thing the council have to deal with). At the very least I'd assume people don't realise they probably aren't automatically insured on it being a private toll road ala the Ring.
edit: whoops turns out the Ring is a public derestricted toll road when open to the public.
Edited by Durzel on Monday 4th August 01:30
Are Top Gear currently filming?
Hammond goes the long way round in some hairdresser's car, May goes the long way round on a motorcycle and Clarkson walks along this toll road. See if Clarkson can walk it quicker than the other drive around the long way.
Looking at the images on the Daily Mail website there seems to be a slope on that toll road.
Hammond goes the long way round in some hairdresser's car, May goes the long way round on a motorcycle and Clarkson walks along this toll road. See if Clarkson can walk it quicker than the other drive around the long way.
Looking at the images on the Daily Mail website there seems to be a slope on that toll road.
NinjaPower said:
Fair play to him for spotting a money making idea and going for it.
I wonder about his business model though.
He says it has cost him £150,000 to get it open and he only has until the end of 2014 to make his money.
Assuming he mans the booth 40 hours per week himself, he will still have to pay someone to sit there for the remainder of the week at a cost of £896 per week (£7 per hour), which equates to £18,816 for the rest of the year.
So his costs for the year will be at a very minimum, £168,816.
£8039 per week.
That's 4020 customers per week without fail just to break even without paying himself any wages.
575 cars per day.
I wonder if he will be that busy?
The alternative is that it's really late, I'm tired and my maths is all wrong
There is a toll to cross the Warbuton Bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal. They charge cars 12p to use the bridge & theres two people in the booth for the morning and evening rush hours. Still makes money.I wonder about his business model though.
He says it has cost him £150,000 to get it open and he only has until the end of 2014 to make his money.
Assuming he mans the booth 40 hours per week himself, he will still have to pay someone to sit there for the remainder of the week at a cost of £896 per week (£7 per hour), which equates to £18,816 for the rest of the year.
So his costs for the year will be at a very minimum, £168,816.
£8039 per week.
That's 4020 customers per week without fail just to break even without paying himself any wages.
575 cars per day.
I wonder if he will be that busy?
The alternative is that it's really late, I'm tired and my maths is all wrong
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