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Motorway areas: service or slavery
Page 50
Page 51
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LAST WEEK at Frankley service area on the M5, a large expensive heavy goods vehicle suffered a minor mechanical malfunction. The driver called his boss by telephone. His boss called the local vehicle distributor who dispatched a service unit to the scene. The service unit arrived and started to fix the problem.
Unfortunately the service unit was spotted by the operators of the service area repair bay, who promptly told the service unit to leave the site. The result was that the operator had to lose unnecessary time and pay an expensive and unnecessary towing and call-out charge to get what would normally have been a simple roadside repair job done.
The operator's alternative was to allow the service area repair bay to do the job. Whilst the repair bay fitters could well be competent to do it, the operator has no guarantee of this. If the vehicle is under warranty or the operator has his own engineering staff, it is obviously better to use authorised vehicle dealer's staff or his own men.
The only way he can do this on the motorway is if his vehicle breaks down on the road. Here he gets a choice of who looks at his vehicle, albeit in very dangerous circumstances.
At the service area where the repair could be carried out in comparative safety, usually no such choice is available.
Britain's motorway service areas are operated by a number of companies who operate the sites on behalf of the Department of Transport. The franchise companies there sublet exclusive service area repair and service rights to a vehicle repairer. Normally fuel and windscreen services are separately run from the repair operations.
Most of Britain's 43 service areas have repair bays which can adequately cope with car problems, although few have even a large enough repair bay to accommodate an articulated vehicle tractive unit, let alone a coach or rigid goods vehicle. Some service areas keep limited stocks of tyres. Others have arrangements with tyre service and windscreen companies.
Britain's service areas are generally well designed and well set out to accommodate the different types of motorway users that visit them, Unfortunately the good intentions of the designers are not met with the same consideration and common sense from the users, and most service areas have separate car, lorry and coach parking spaces.
Every service area I visited on a recent survey on the M4 and M1 had lorries parked in the car park, cars and lorries in the coach park and cars and lorries in the lorry park. Coach parks are usually clearly sign posted with -coaches onlyand similar signs but still almost without fail attract vehicles other than those for which they were intended.
Catering facilities at motor way service areas are predictable and generally food is exactly what it seems to be. Many service areas have separate catering facilities for transport and coach drivers that provide speedier service. On the same areas at busy periods where there are split catering facilities, one side is set aside for transport use Farthing Corner Service Area has a waiter service restaurant in addition to the normal cafeteria. This restaurant is normally open only in the summer months between 7am and 11 pm.
Hilton Park and Forton services on the M6 also have separate restaurant facilities open for waiter service meals open for certain hours only.
One service area that has something different to offer is the Trowell Mecca Village which is situated on the M1 between junction 25 and 26. At Trowel!, there is a bar area when nonalcoholic beer can be suffered in a true pub-like atmosphere.
Tebay West services on the M6 features a chalet-style cafeteria set in wild Cumbria countryside which provides a setting suitable for a top-class restaurant. At Tebay, often a more varied menu than available at other service areas is offered_ Trust Houses-Forte at present run a larger number of motorway service areas than any other organisation in Britain. Under the Motor-Chef name_ THE-run Scratchwood services situated near junction 3 on the Ml.
,Newport Pagnell between jui tions 14 and 15 on the M Woodall between junctions and 31 on the Ml, Fleet b ween junctions 4 and 5 on i M3, Gordano at junction 19 the M5, Corley between ju tions 3 and 4 on the rv Keele between junctic 15 and 16 on the M6, Charnr Richard between junctions and 28 on the M6. Burtonwc between junctions 7 and 9 the M62 and trunk road ser\ areas at Oxford on the A34 Grantham and Barnsdale Bar the Al. All service areas o diesel fuel, parking and 24-h catering facilities. These mo way service areas all offer rej and breakdown facilities accept agency and credit car Second largest is Granada chain which open Washington services on Al (M) in Tyne and Wear, dington services between ji tions 17 and 18 on the I Woolley Edge between jt tions 37 and 39 on the I Heston between junctions 2 3 on the M4. Frankley boys junction 3 and 4 on the Leigh Delamere between tions 17 and 18 on thr Sandy Gate between junct 30 and 31 on the M5, Sc waite between junctions 41 42 on the M6 and Birch ween junctions 15 and 1! !the M62. All accept credit c and agency cards for fuel have repair facilities on at one side of the motorway.
The Rank Organisation service areas at Farthing C between junctions 4 and the M2, Aust by the Severn Bridge on the M4, Hilton Park between junctions 10 and 11 on the M6, Knutsford between punctions 18 and 19 on the M6 and Forton between junctions 32 and 33 on the M6.
Blue Boar motorways of Rugby manage the Watford Gap service area between junctions 16 and 17 on the M1 and the new Rothersthorpe service area on the M1 between junctions 15 and 16.
The Ross Group runs Leicester Forest East services between junctions 21 and 22, Membury between junctions 1 4 and 15 on the M4 and Hartshead Moor on the M62.
Mobil runs service areas at Vlichael Wood between juncions 13 and 14 on the M5 and 3urton (West) between juncions 35 and 36 on the M6. The Kenning group has serrice areas at Strensham which is )etween junction 7 and 8 on the 05 and at Anderton on the 061.
Westmorland motorways run -ebay (West) services on the M6 ietween junctions 38 and 39.
Road Chef now has service reas at Rownhams on the new iouth Coast M27 motorway, at :aunton Deane between juncons 16 and 17 on the M5, at :illington lake which is on the outhbound lane on the M6 etween junctions 35 and 37, nd Hamilton and Bothwell on le M74 in Scotland.
Trowell Mecca Village is situted between 25 and 26 on the 11 and is run by the Mecca rganisation.
The Alan Pond group runs arthill services on the M8 in cotland.
All service areas have fuel iailable 24 hours a day; many we breakdown service avail)le or on call all night. A few of )e services serving the less Jsy sections of road close the
cafeteria at night although all these have 24-hour toilet facilities and vending machines.
The prices charged for both food and fuel on motorway services is often a cause of complaint, although running costs and staff costs for these establishments are particularly high. Often as service areas are away from centres of population, the management has to provide transport for its staff.
Keeping the establishment open 24 hours also involves extra shift payments to staff.
Coaches and their passengers are well catered for at motorway service areas, all of which have adequate toilet facilities, including those for disabled persons and, provided they are not occupied by other vehicles, coach parking facilities.
The Motor Chef service areas have, however, banned football coaches unless a prior appointment from a bona fide supporters' club or club secretary is made. This has become necessary to protect all the facilities at the service areas and their customers.
After all is considered, most service areas do offer a good service, given the volume of traffic and staff availability. Fuel prices are often necessarily higher than at many of the motorway garages, but fuel is usually available quickly and access to pumps for large vehicles good.
The restriction on outside garages being allowed to repair expensive specialised vehicles, particularly those under warranty and the restrictions on an operator using his own staff to repair his own vehicle at the service area is a cause for concern, although at many service areas no apparent objection is made.
• by Noel Millier