Transport User Voice November 2023 – Motorway Services User Survey
01 November 2023
Rugby rated best services
Moto Rugby services on the M6 has been rated the best motorway services for the second year running in the annual survey by Transport Focus.
Moto’s Rugby site was awarded the best rated motorway services with 100 per cent of visitors satisfied. As the newest site in the country, Rugby was rated highly for its food and drink, toilets and friendly staff.
More than 30,000 visitors at 120 motorway services in Great Britain spoke to us about their views on the toilets, customer service, value of the food and drink and electric vehicle charging facilities. This is the sixth year of the survey, and motorway services have performed well with 94 per cent of visitors satisfied with their visit, up from 93 per cent in 2022.
Some of the key findings
- 92 per cent of visitors were satisfied with the toilets – this is up from 88 per cent in 2022
- more than nine in 10 visitors said staff at the services were helpful and friendly
- value for money continues to be an area for improvement with nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of visitors saying the food or drink available to eat was value for money, and six in ten (57 per cent) thought the takeaway food was good value for money
- around two thirds of disabled users said that services catered well for their impairment, which leaves room for improvement by operators.
Elsewhere, Welcome Break’s Hartshead Moor East on the M62 is lowest rated for overall satisfaction (84 per cent) and visitors are least likely to recommend it to a friend. In Scotland Roadchef’s Annandale Water is the highest rated services (99 per cent) and Welcome Break Sarn Park is the highest rated in Wales (96 per cent).
Across the country investment by operators is continuing to make a real difference for road users. Birchanger Green (Welcome Break) has seen the biggest increase in overall satisfaction, up from 83 per cent in 2022 to 96 per cent in 2023.
Transport Focus uses the survey to make the case for improvements and help operators focus on the things that matter most to visitors. When Transport Focus started measuring motorway service visitor satisfaction in 2017, the lowest overall satisfaction score at any site was 62 per cent. In 2023 the lowest site score was 84 per cent.
The survey data shows that visitors have noticed these improvements and the investment by motorway service operators over the last seven years since we started the survey. In 2017 six out of ten motorway services scored 90 per cent or more for overall visitor satisfaction, in 2023 more than 90 per cent of services have this high level of satisfaction.
What visitors say
- A visitor at Rugby said: “Very clean and well laid out. Lots of choice for buying food and drinks. Lots of seating available both inside and out. Very attractive building inside, light and airy.”
- One respondent to the survey remarked on the shortage of electric vehicle charging points: “Need more charging points – it’s frustrating to have to wait. Need more fast charging points.”
- Commenting on the helpful staff at services one visitor said: “The staff I came into contact with were really friendly and helpful. I was tired and they offered to bring over my drinks and food once I’d paid.”
Highest rated motorway services
Motorway service station | Operator | % satisfied | Ranking out of 120 |
Rugby | Moto | 100 | 1 |
Killington Lake | Roadchef | 99 | 2 |
Annandale Water | Roadchef | 99 | 3 |
Wetherby | Moto | 99 | 4 |
Stafford South | Roadchef | 99 | 5 |
Corley South | Welcome Break | 99 | 6 |
Chester | Roadchef | 99 | 7 |
Reading East | Moto | 99 | 8 |
Leeds Skelton Lake | Extra | 98 | 9 |
Ferrybridge | Moto | 98 | 10 |
Lowest rated motorway services
Motorway service station | Operator | % satisfied | Ranking out of 120 |
Membury East | Welcome Break | 89 | 111 |
Sandbach South | Roadchef | 89 | 112 |
Cardiff Gate | Welcome Break | 89 | 113 |
Sedgemoor North | Welcome Break | 89 | 114 |
Lancaster South | Moto | 88 | 115 |
Hartshead Moor West | Welcome Break | 88 | 116 |
Bridgwater | Moto | 88 | 117 |
Toddington South | Moto | 88 | 118 |
Toddington North | Moto | 88 | 119 |
Hartshead Moor East | Welcome Break | 84 | 120 |
In the survey we spoke to 30,774 visitors across 120 services including 107 sites in England, seven in Scotland and six in Wales.
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