• Home
• Used vehicles
• Product news
• Dealer news
• Compliance
• Buying advice
• Archive

WHAT PRICE MAC'S CAFFP

PART 1

Higher productivity, more goods, more vehicles —a challenging trend. But can transport catering meet the. changing demands which result? Some problems and solutions are examined here by S. BUCKLEY, ASSOC. INST. T.

TRANSPORT CAFES—and the atmosphere they so readily conjure up—have become a national tradition. Because freedom of choice has always been the driver's prerogative, their very numbers confirm the useful service they provide. Unobtrusively they have made their contribution to the overall growth of road transport and particularly long-distance haulage. .., In so doing they have been as self-sufficient and individualistic as the industry they serve. Any thought of " planning " their industry would have been incongruous, to say the least. Where choice of catering is concerned one man's meat is indeed another man's poison.

But will the traditional pattern remain much longer? Just as road transport must keep pace with changes in trade and industry, if it is to continue earning its keep, so too must transport catering. .

The self-sufficiency of the past, it may well be claimed, should stand the many existing providers of transport catering in good stead in the future. But the changes now taking place, resulting from the construction of motorways and other major roads, are -creating a completely new situation in many areas. Moreover, the. pace of these changes is unlikely to slacken within the next few years.

Parallel with these physical' changes there are Other factors, such as increased industrial productivity and growing demands for higher standards generally, which have a bearing on future transport catering. Because there is no overall planning of.transport catering this changing situation seems unlikely to attract immediate and .positive action from one central 'authority. But the implications of these changes could affect Government authorities at both local and central levels, in addition to the roadtransport industry itself, as this survey of present trends reveals.

National productivity is expected to increase by four per cent per annum—that is the Government's accepted forecast. Inevitably there will be at least comparable growth in freight movement. After making allowance for 93m. tons a year at present conveyed by road, which Dr. Beeching judges potentially suitable for rail, there should be at least an extra 5m. tons a year to be conveyed by road.

Even after allowing for more intensive utilization of existing fleets or operation of larger vehicles, extra vehicles will be required to move this additional freight. Correspondingly, more drivers will be requiring meals and over night accommodation en route. c32 Understandably, with so many major reports on transport either tabled or in the legislative pipeline, thc Government of the day might be excused for placing catering and accommodation for the lorry driver low on its list of priorities, if indeed it appeared at all. Yet on several occasions in the past few weeks an electionconscious Parliament has found time to discuss transport catering facilities and the allied subject of Larry parking.

Whilst it would be an exaggeration to claim that this subject is a major factor in transport operation, it would be foolish to ignore the implications of current trends. If no action whatever is taken it could mean that in the near future more and more long-distance lorry drivers will be unable to find suitable overnight accommodation. This, in turn, could directly affect drivingstandards, amongst other factors, and ultimately might be another reason for experienced drivers seeking other work.

Three Arbitrary Groups

Existing establishments can be conveniently considered in three arbitrary groups. There are the many pull-ins Instantly recognized as transport cafes spread over a wide range of the country, chiefly alongside main roads and towns and cities. Originating as such cafes, the second group provide similar facilities but, because of successive extensions, have greater accommodation. Often their growth has stemmed from the fact that• they are adjacent to one or more main commercial arteries. The third and most recent group is the accommodation now being provided on motorways built or under construction.

Typical of the first and second groups are the 500 or more establishments listed in the Drivers' Guide published by the Road Transport Catering and Accommodation Joint Committee. Listed under the counties of England, Wales and Scotland, they show a wide range of facilities offered. Thus, parking accommodation may be provided, or available, in the vicinity; similarly, so may sleeping accommodation. There are also differences in the days of opening; that is, five-, sixor seven-day working.

As the name of many of these establishments implies, a high proportion are run by the proprietor with or without the aid of members of the family. As with the road haulage industry they serve, long and irregular hours of work are often inevitable if wages and overhead costs are to be kept to• a minimum and the whole exercise" is to prove profitable. Whilst in some such examples the facilities provided are adequate, it could seldom be claimed that they are lavish. :Until now both parties—provider and customer—have arrived at an acceptable compromise between prime requirements and realistic charges.

But what of the future? In road haulage itself some far-seeing operators are realizing that the willingness of driving staff to work long hours to provide the extra comfort which overtime payments can make possible may tend to diminish in the future. As their mates in automated factories have more and more leisure time no pay packet may ultimately compensate for the loss of such time.

Parallel with this possible development the successive generation of transport café proprietors may think on similar lines. If they do then it could be that the whole pattern of transport cafés will change.

Ideally, a commercial transport café, with or without overnight accommodation, should give a 24-hour service seven days a week. But whilst this may not be an economic proposition on less densely trafficked routes, nevertheless anything approaching normal hours of working, such as nine till five and the like, are out of the question if an adequate service is to be provided. Once the long hours of an owner-proprietor are no longer forthcoming, then at

least double-shift, if not three-shift working becomes necessary if the service is to be maintained. That in turn,

in a majority of cases, Would necessitate larger establishments than are now normally found. New problems could then arise if expansion was envisaged. Such problems have already arisen, for proprietors of existing larger establishments, sited on main trunk routes and particularly when adjacent to the junction of two or more such major trunk roads. A typical example is in the North London area. Similar problems could be in the making at the approaches to other large industrial areas.

In North London an established operator claims that the situation is becoming acute, because of the effect of new motorways and by-passes being constructed there. Such a development adds to the existing problem of shortage of suitable accommodation. This is evident by the increasing habit of parking commercial vehicles on main roads in central London and dock areas.

The number of commercial vehicles entering the London area nightly with their drivers requiring accommodation is difficult to assess. A figure of 15,000 might not be con sidered unreasonable, although it must be conceded that a substantial proportion of these would either be returning to their home depot or have overnight accommodation provided. Even so that could leave 5,000 drivers away from their home base requiring accommodation for themselves and their vehicles at least five nights a week.

Economic Viability In contrast with the relatively small transport café with an economic viability dependent on minimum overheads and facilities provided, there are a limited number of establishments on the northern perimeter of London offering accommodation for 50 or more drivers. Because of shortage of accommodation, however, drivers book rooms in advance where regularity of journeys permits this. But increasing terminal delays and other reasons mean there will always be a proportion of drivers who cannot be sure of the probable location of their overnight stop until midday or later. By this time securing of accommodation could prove difficult, if not impossible.

Then, after vain attempts to obtain accommodation, drivers are compelled to terminate their working day,

because of the requirements of Section 73 of the Road Traffic Act, 1960, concerning limitation of hours. The. police, also aware of these legal requirements, realize the difficulty if they request drivers to move vehicles when they have already completed their maximum driving periods. Whilst there is understandable objection, both from residents and police, to overnight parking of commercial vehicles on -main roads in urban areas, it is often just such a situation that brings this about. Moreover, whilst there are exceptions, experienced transport drivers sleep in their cabs only through dire necessity after failure to find suitable accommodation.

This already difficult situation could be aggravated further by developments which have taken place recently in North London and which ceiuld be repeated elsewhere. About 15 miles north of London a new by-pass has been built as part of the scheme for improving approach roads to the central London area.

As a result a 75-bed establishment located at the cross roads of two trunk routes leading in and out of London has lost custom. With this larger type of establishment, the availability of day-time custom both in the sale of fuel and provision of meals is essential to offset the additional overheads as compared with the small family-run café.

In this particular instance, whilst lorry drivers are prepared to turn off the new by-pass for a stop of several hours, as in the case of night accommodation, any stop for meals must be relatively short and the facilities must therefore be available literally on the wayside—that is, adjacent tcr the road on which they are travelling.

As a result the proprietors of this establishment now find that it is no longer an economic proposition, even though a high rate of profitability was neither expected nor achieved in the past. On purely economic grounds much better use could have been made of the site.

New By-passes

The proprietors were, however, not content to let the matter rest there. They made extensive inquiries with all relevant authorities and were assured of support, because of the very real need for the continuance of such accommodation and, indeed, its expansion where possible. They were therefore encouraged to consider the possibility of building a new establishment adjacent to the nearby and recently constructed by-pass. Because of the limitation of entry and exit to such new by-passes the site chosen was near to a slip-road joining the former main road to a roundabout on the by-pass.

To make a worth-while impression on the demand for night accommodation in the area it was considered that an establishment providing beds for 150-200 drivers was needed, costing around £10,000 or more according to the facilities provided. The minimum to meet these requirements was considered to be a two-storey building with restaurant and lounges in addition to bedrooms, and with service available at least throughout a double shift, Additionally there Would be parking accommodation for, say, 200 commercial vehicles, with an adequate range of pumps in the forecourt and a small private car park nearby.

Admittedly, this particular site serving two trunk routes is a specific example only. But as there are at least 10 or 12 such approaches to London from the north and west it would seem that if this venture were justified in this instance then there could be a corresponding need for six such establishments on the perimeter of London.

But the venture is not likely to succeed—at least as matters stand at the moment. Despite support of local councils in the centre of London who are complaining of c34 successive parking of commercial vehicles on their roads overnight, or approval by the police who, quite naturally, find the checking of 100 or more vehicles on a car park a much simpler exercise than when strewn along the streets in ones and twos, there is opposition from another source.

The reason for failure to proceed with the venture is twofold. On the score. of land values alone, if such a venture is to have any chance of being an economical proposition, it must be built away from central London. This invariably means within the Green Belt, with obvious opposition from the appropriate planning authorities. Additionally, whilst the siting of existing establishments is tolerated, there is opposition from the Ministry of Transport to any new transport café that is proposed to be built alongside major roads-on the grounds of danger to other road users.

But whilst accepting that the prime function of motorways, by-passes and other major road works is to improve the mobility of traffic, some regard must be given to terminal points, if the term " journey in its entirety is to have any meaning.

Other Trends Have an Effect

Experienced lorry drivers, together with their union representatives, may justifiably contend that there is no cause for alarm in the present situation. Such drivers, it is claimed, have detailed knowledge of accommodation ,available on regular routes. Because they, are, by and large, individualistic types, they will select according to their particular preference and 'will continue to use those which have given them satisfaction in the past, even though they may have been by-passed as a result of new road construction. Thus, after major reconstruction of the Al, longestablished accommodation in the now by-passed towns is still well patronized.

But although the situation may be satisfactory at the .moment other trends may have a bearing on their ultimate profitability. Their existing satisfactory patronage, despite the advent of by-passes, may partly be because of increased industrial productivity, an increase from which they should be benefiting rather than merely maintaining their present position. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, the problem of remaining open for long hours remains, At the other end of the scale are the facilities provided in the third arbitrary group--namely,.accommodation provided on motorways constructed or under construction. In contrast with many modest transport eaCes, a service area on a motorway may involve an expenditure cif much more than £500,000 with, moreover, a guarantee of resources with which to provide a 24-hour service every day for 50 years! Such requirements obviously limit the field of potential caterers to very few indeed.

For the same reason the proportion of such motorway establishments is small and will remain so compared with the overall number of transport cafes. To that extent it might be claimed that their influence on the overall pattern would be relatively slight and slow. But this may not be so, as the extent of the facilities they provide and the high volume of traffic on-the motorways they serve will go far to offsetting their comparatively small numbers.

It is indeed a significant change in the whole approach to this subject that big business" is showing any interest at all in providing facilities for transport staff, albeit catering only at the moment. Recent Parliamentary discussion also displayed top-level interest with the ministerial announcement that all future motorway service areas will have separate cafés catering primarily for commercial drivers.----