Rugby services on the M6, run by Moto, has been rated the best motorway services in a user survey.
Transport Focus spoke to more than 31,000 visitors at 119 motorway services in Great Britain about their views on the toilets, staff, value for money of the food and drink, electric vehicle charging and the impact their visit has on the mood of drivers.
The transport user watchdog said that in the survey’s fifth year, motorway service operators had again performed well overall, with 93% of visitors happy with their visit. All visitors were satisfied with their visit to Rugby services, the newest site on the motorway network.
Rugby also came out on top as the site visitors were most likely to recommend to someone making a similar journey and the highest satisfaction with the toilets, at 99%.
Transport Focus chief executive Anthony Smith (left of picture) said: ‘Our survey shows motorway service operators deliver good overall customer experience and facilities, but visitors don’t always feel they get value for money.
‘Services continue to do a good job of their most important safety function – allowing drivers to rest and relax before getting back on the road.’
For the first time, Transport Focus surveyed motorway services visitors in Scotland and Wales operated by Roadchef and Welcome Break. Sarn Park (Welcome Break) is the highest-rated services in Wales (97%) and Hamilton (Roadchef) the highest-rated in Scotland (94%).
Key findings:
- staff at the services are considered helpful and friendly, with nine in 10 visitors rating them positively
- 88% of visitors were satisfied with the toilets. Extra and Roadchef had the highest ratings for toilets both at 93%
- value for money continues to be the key area for improvement – 63% of visitors thought the food or drink available to eat in the services was value for money
- stopping at the services has a positive impact on drivers’ mood – almost one in three arrive saying they feel tired, stressed or frustrated, which fell to less than one in 10 after the visit
- HGV drivers were the least satisfied overall at 88%
- users charging electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles rated the payment options at the services highly (91%) but gave lower ratings for value for money (68%) and for information available online (73%).
