ARGH Expensive Transport :(

[BenvardenRach2]

Loosing the will to live a little..

Quite fancied attending a local show 4 miles away from our yard, I thought it wouldn't cost too much compared to attending events over 30 mins away (where most are!) so asked for a quote from a resident transport company who is also based at said livery yard.
4 miles to the venue an hour to wait for me to do my test then to drop us back to the yard where she is also situated so this would be the end of the journey for her too.
£60 for an 8 mile round trip then an extra fee to wait for an hour...

Would cost me nearly £90 to do one dressage test! the lady is lovely and she has a nice fairly modern 3.5 tonne box.. is this expensive or is it just me? Me and the boy wont be going out very much if it's costing us this much just to go to a venue 10 mins away from the yard..
Not possible to hack as the only route is on main roads!

 

[be positive]

That is expensive, our local transporters charge by the mile plus a set waiting fee, from memory the 3.5 ton was £1.50 per mile plus £20 per hour waiting/ helping if required, they may have a minimum for somewhere very local but it may be worth you shopping around as most areas have several 3.5 tons transporters available but it is a busy time of year for them to commit to a short trip that could be in the middle of the day, it may also be worth seeing if any one else wants to go so you could hire a bigger box and split the cost.

 

[chaps89]

Seems fair to me. All in its probably half an hour travelling each way by the time they've got the lorry out, you've loaded/unloaded you/your stuff/the horse each end and they then have th time taken to clean the lorry out once they're back too. Presumably once at the venue you will be about an hour (registering/fetching numbers, warming up, doing the test and then waiting for results)
So you're looking at 2-3 hours really for use of a (likely expensive to buy and run- professional transporters aren't likely to skimp on maintenance or repairs, which due to the higher mileage they do will be more frequent than your average owner would face) lorry, the time for someone to drive it/wait for you/the legal qualifications or registrations they have to do to transport people professionally.
It is expensive to get out and about sadly- I'm in the same boat as you so do understand.

 

[windand rain]

very expensive wanted to take three to a show so 7.5 ton needed was quoted £1.50 a mile and £6.50 per hour waiting worked out cheaper to drop off and pick up rather than wait

 

[PaddyMonty]

Could you hack there.
4 miles each way is not very far by horse

 

[Iris1995]

Could you hack? It’s old fashioned but we used to do it and it’s a great way to warm up too.

 

[cold_feet]

If it’s 4 miles could you not hack there?

 

[BenvardenRach2]

not possible to hack as the only route is on main roads 40mph +, a couple of big roundabouts (5 or more exits) + and then through a very busy town center which is a one way street
Not safe I used to hack to loads of shows as a teen when I was at another yard and have nothing against it, if i could i certainly would do!

 

[pixie27]

That's very cheap compared to round here. For weekend hire it's about £120/day, not including a driver. Haven't seen many that do half day rates.

Transport is so expensive. Do you know anyone who could give you a lift for diesel money?

 

[SusieT]

Seems fair to me I'm afraid - it costs a lot to maintain the boxes + risk + insurance + petrol etc. Why not save up to buy your own?

 

[BenvardenRach2]

Thank you every one for your replies - I'm just slightly confused as I paid the same lady £40 to move my horse from my old yard to this yard that was a 30 mile round trip for her (15 miles from old yard to new) .
I understand that she most probably has a set fee for shorter journeys however, the fee to the show is a 'discounted rate' as I am now a livery.

I am saving for a trailer myself but would also like to get out and about whilst saving.

 

[MissTyc]

Would she do a drop off & pick up instead of waiting around or does that make no difference to her?

There is prof transporter on the yard next to me and she would def be amenable to negotiation for this type of transport for v cheap if she had nothing else booked. She charges £1/mile inc driving time + £20/hour waiting time as a standard.

.. anyone who you could talk into sharing the trip? £30 each more palatable!

 

[gallopingby]

Its not just the cost of taking someone somewhere, the company has to factor in cleaning/disinfectant costs as well as maintenance ,insurance, time etc. Stand hire charge for self drive is around £90 a day. Could be cheaper if you shared with a friend? All professional transport people have to comply with DEFRA rules or they loose their licence. Trailer hire may be cheaper if you have a vehicle to tow with, but you'll need to have passed the appropriate test.

 

[criso]

The good transporters round here have a minimum charge, usually about £90 then waiting time is between £10 and £20 hour. If they are further away the mileage will take into account where they have come from.

There are a few that are a bit cheaper but you are still talking about £60 - £70 and some do not have the required paperwork.

Sadly sharing is often not an option unless you are talking ponies as the professional boxes tend to be build very sturdily and don't have a huge payload.

 

[ester]

If you are saving for a trailer do you have the ability to tow? a few places do trailer hire round us much cheaper than box hire.

Has she charged more as a weekend so taken her out on a popular day?

 

[Vodkagirly]

Yes its expensive but presumably its a weekend and the transporter can't book any one else in as they need to fit around your times? £90 Inc fuel/costs isn't a lot for a days work.

 

[Embo]

Seems reasonable to me. Around here, you're looking at £100 minimum for transport alone. Self drive hire might work out better value as you can generally get a days' hire for around the same cost (plus diesel). Cheaper still for half day if the venue isn't far.

 

[BethanT]

Sounds about right. Most I know have a minimum charge of £50 then put the mileage on top.

Don't forget there is probably about 4 hours worth of work really, as she will have to come out to you, load your kit, horse and yourself up, then drive to the venue, wait around, drive back, unload kit etc, drive home then clean the box out.

Plus on top of that all the running expenses. If your not competing loads still works out cheaper than having your own.

 

[Theocat]

Allowing for loading / unloading / cleaning the box etc you're probably looking at around three hours of her time. £30 per hour is not much when you also take into count all the costs of running the box, licensing, etc etc, and if you also consider that she probably can’t do any other bookings that day, it’s fair that the price reflects that potential loss of earnings as well.

I am staggered by some of the costs being quoted further up. How can anyone be making money as a transporter at £1 per mile, for individual horses? And £6.50 per hour waiting time isn’t even minimum wage!

 

[Maesto's Girl]

Most near me on key show days (Sundays) will charge by the day, as by the time you've got there, done a class, back, cleaned the box and driven it back, it's pretty much an entire day. This will be about £120. Weekday/half day is usually about £60. I ended up buying my own on finance as otherwise, I'd be paying out nearly £500 a month for box hire - now paying half that and can go out whenever I want

 

[ihatework]

Sounds on the cheap side for a professional transporter needing to make a living.
On the higher side of expected for a not so professional trying to boost income

 

[mcnaughty]

You should try buying, keeping and maintaining a lorry yourself! That's expensive transport ;-)

 

[henmother]

I feel your pain. Was in a similar position , cost me £75 to do a couple of tests at a local place . I too saved for a trailer , then the service, then the insurance ,then the storage then the B&E lessons and test. It took me years to save but it's one of the best things I've ever done, the sacrifices have been totally worth it. We've been to places I'd never have been able to afford to go if I had to pay a transporter. It's not cheap but once you've passed your test you can go where you want , when you want . Good luck with saving , hopefully you can find something to suit your budget sooner rather than later .