APPALLING SERVICE
Page 27
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Recently, at a couple of motorway sites on the west side of London, the yellowjacketed "parking attendants" have informed me they have statutory powers to issue fixed penalty tickets for non-payment of parking, and they are able to discover the owner of the vehicle through the DVLA, lam unwilling to pay for parking on these sites for the following reasons. First, the huge cost—four nights a week constitutes a massive amount of money. Secondly, the services supplied for thls sum are almost always appalling: filthy toilets, Inadequate washing facilities and disgraceful showering facilities (frequertly only one dirty shower per area—that's a big queue in the evening).
Thirdly, what alternatives are there on UK motorways? This is literally highway robbery. A vehicle subject to tachograph regulations frequently has no choice but to use these facilities. Our truckstops are often little better.
Writing to the owners and operators of these sites produces no response, let alone any effect. Those who travel in mainland Europe will be only too aware of the major differences.
I would dearly love
to take some of these managers for a tour around a good Dutch truckstcp, such as Asten. Free parking, excellent food, many free showers, polite waitress service, etc. Clearly, there are issues concerned witti use and value of land as well as the tax structure which affect the economics of providing such services, but lam not aware that politeness costs so much.
I would be grateful for clarification on the legal position above, as my patrols and surveys over the last six months suggest that very few people are actually paying for these dubious privilegas. And if such people really do have recourse to such information, there are serious implications concerning civil liberties and data protection.
Tire Smith
Western Star European Express Couriers, Ipswich,