(02 May 2016, 9:57 pm)James101 There's been some discussion on facebook around the merits of charging money to attend bus rallies and running days - I'm wondering what opinion is on here.
There seems to be two main camps on the issue:
- Free events attract new people to the hobby and in turn promote further vehicle preservation
- It is rude & ungrateful to not contribute to the running costs of a vehicle when an owner offers rides on it
What does everybody think?
Trimmed some of your post down to avoid a huge quote - sorry
I don't think that it's free events that attract new people to the hobby. It's well promoted and organised events, whilst providing value for money, that do.
This may prove to be a controversial statement to some, but NEBPT events aren't well promoted and organised. Apart from on this site and the classic bus listings, I can't recall seeing it mentioned anywhere else. We published details on our own Facebook page twice, which is more than NEBPT posted on their own social media.
I'm not by any means suggesting that they're poor events, but what I am suggesting is that they're not pushed and driven to the point of releasing any real potential. Instead, they're simply relying on word of mouth and the same folk attending year on year. At some point, someone needs to realise that what worked 10-15 years ago, doesn't necessarily work now, and the events just strike me as needing some fresh ideas.
On your second point, I do get where you're coming from, but I think a lot of it is people not understanding 'protocol', if you like? However, this wasnt restricted to one age group, before the inevitable conclusions begin... I've always been told that if someone is doing something voluntary for you, then give them a token of appreciation. This doesn't matter whether it's someone packing your bags in a supermarket, or someone ferrying you around on their preserved bus. It's not a commitment to have to donate a tenner at a time, but a donation is more than just monetary to me - it's appreciation and gratitude too.
We're lucky to have some fantastically presented preserved buses. Each year seems to draw more surprises, and this year was no exception. I only managed a ride out on two this year, and of course donated to both causes.
However, one thing that I'm reluctant to mention, but I will, seeing as I've read some Facebook threads on the subject: it's extremely offensive to refer to anyone as 'window lickers' and other derogatory terms. It's 2016, and I really thought we were past references such as that. You have the right to be disappointed that someone isn't donating to ride your bus or go to your event, but there is absolutely no place for that.
So what do we do to change things? Given that preservationists can't issue fares, it puts the onus back on people's gratitude and generosity. Perhaps one suggestion would be to offer day wristbands at the NEBPT stall? £5 for a wristband and the total amount raised is split and goes to the preservationists that ran out, as a donation from NEBPT. Programme sales obviously generate income too, but it'd have to be worth buying, or it won't sell.
Food for thought...
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