Motorway service area: Difference between revisions

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Motorway service areas, also known as service stations and commonly abbreviated to MSAs are, as in the rest of the world, places where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel, rest, or take refreshments. Almost all motorway services in the UK are owned by the Department for Transport and let on 50-year leases to private operating companies.^{[citation needed]} The vast majority of motorway services in the UK are owned by one of three companies: Moto, Welcome Break and RoadChef and a developing chain of stations being constructed by Extra. Some service stations also have hotels next to them offering motorists cheap overnight accommodation.

Pricing

Food sold at motorway services is notoriously expensive. This is often attributed to the fact that many regulations apply to the areas, which would not be viable to run while charging cheaper prices. Another factor may be that, unlike in other countries, the companies must pay the full cost of constructing the entry and exit slip roads and all other required features for safe access to motorway services, as well as the motorway services facility itself. In other countries, the authority responsible for the highway tends to subsidise these costs on the grounds that these areas are partly a public service to drivers. The leases provide that motorway services must operate 24 hours a day, and the costs of providing utilities and services are high.^[1] With very few customers in the early morning, they need to earn the money in other ways.

Regulations

Under the terms of the lease, motorway services must provide free short-term parking, toilet facilities and adequate provision for the sale of food and fuel 24 hours a day.^[1]

Services are prohibited from selling alcohol as this might encourage drink driving.^{[citation needed]} However many now have video game areas and gambling areas with fruit machines and other electronic devices.

Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland does not yet have motorway service areas – initially the National Roads Authority opposed them on the grounds that it preferred to see traffic using existing businesses in bypassed towns, and that the motorway network was not large enough for them anyway. However in 2006 it changed its mind, and the Roads Act 2007 makes provision for a Motorway Service Area Scheme to be made for proposed motorway service areas. The NRA is currently involved in a process to determine an operator for the first round of service areas to be opened.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b "Why the Prices?". Motorway Services Online. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
^ http://www.nra.ie/News/NewsAnnouncements/htmltext,10439,en.html

External links

[msaopr-1] "Why the Prices?". Motorway Services Online. Retrieved 2009-03-22.

[2] ttp://www.nra.ie/News/NewsAnnouncements/htmltext,10439,en.html

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-{{dated prod|concern = hardly merits its own article [[Roadchef]] and others more than over this topic |month = March|day = 23|year = 2009|time = 01:25|timestamp = 20090323012550}}
-<!-- Do not use the "dated prod" template directly; the above line is generated by "subst:prod|reason" --> [[User:Moggiethemeow|Moggiethemeow]] ([[User talk:Moggiethemeow|talk]]) 01:25, 23 March 2009 (UTC)
 [[Image:Wetherby services.JPG|thumb|right|220px|[[Wetherby Services]], run by [[Moto Hospitality]] on the [[A1(M)]] in [[Wetherby]], [[West Yorkshire]].]]
 '''Motorway service areas''', also known as service stations and commonly abbreviated to MSAs are, as in the rest of the world, places where drivers can leave a motorway to refuel, rest, or take refreshments. Almost all motorway services in the UK are owned by the [[Department for Transport]] and let on 50-year leases to private operating companies.{{fact|date=March 2009}} The vast majority of motorway services in the UK are owned by one of three companies: [[Moto Hospitality|Moto]], [[Welcome Break]] and [[RoadChef]] and a developing chain of stations being constructed by [[Extra (service areas)|Extra]]. Some service stations also have hotels next to them offering motorists cheap overnight accommodation.