MSE News: The 91% motorway service station mark-up

Former_MSE_Guy · 10 February 2011 at 10:09AM

"Motorists pay far more for items such as petrol, food and drink than they would at high street outlets ..."

Read the full story:
The 91% motorway service station mark-up

KierNet · 10 February 2011 at 10:17AM

I think because they are on the motorway, they can charge more, bit of a pain to get into work for the staff, so maybe they get paid more? And of course the supply/demand...if people buy fuel/drinks at that price, they'll continue to sell at that price.

bap98189 · 10 February 2011 at 10:25AM

It's the same at railway stations, theatres, cinemas etc. We are paying more for the convenience in the same way supermarkets charge more at their city centre shops (Tesco Express etc.) than the big out of town ones. They do presumably have some increased costs. I would imagine the rent on a shop in a station or motorway service station is considerably more than that of an out of town shop.

Niksan · 10 February 2011 at 10:32AM

While it costs retailers more to transport goods to service stations,

I don't buy this at all, surely motorways being main arteries to everywhere'ville, surely many service stations are passed en-route to cities to supply the stores there. :huh:

WestonDave · 10 February 2011 at 10:34AM

Its a circular argument - everyone knows service stations are expensive so most people just call in for free and use the toilets, and then sit in the car park to eat their own sandwiches etc. It still creates costs from cleaning and maintenance, which just gets piled onto the prices of the fewer sales, so prices are high. To a degree its a price we pay for having the facility available - we are of course free to drive 10 minutes off the motorway to find a nearby petrol station or supermarket but if everyone did that, all the service stations would close and the taxpayer would end up footing the bill for providing toilets and rest areas (required for safe lorry transport) via other means (e.g. higher fuel duties).

Jeff_Bridges_hair · 10 February 2011 at 10:40AM

Wow.. such a surprise this.. I never knew you would pay more at a service station on the motorway..

Thanks MSE.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case · 10 February 2011 at 10:42AM

Jeff_Bridges_hair wrote: »

Wow.. such a surprise this.. I never knew you would pay more at a service station on the motorway..

Thanks MSE.

Just beat me to it, Jeff. :T

Esoog · 10 February 2011 at 10:44AM

There's no need to be rude, we are after all guests on MSE.

Everyone knows you pay more, this article is actually giving some percentages which may suprise some people at the level of markup. 91% certainly is a lot.

nomoneytoday · 10 February 2011 at 10:47AM

How else do they repay their £multi million investments in property and infrastructure?

ElkyElky · 10 February 2011 at 11:06AM

Esoog wrote: »

There's no need to be rude, we are after all guests on MSE.

Everyone knows you pay more, this article is actually giving some percentages which may suprise some people at the level of markup. 91% certainly is a lot.

Without us, MSE would no longer be. :eek:

movilogo · 10 February 2011 at 11:17AM

Motorway service stations have two types of customers.

95% people park there to take rest, use toilet and eat own food in cars.
5% people buy food on their shops, play bingo etc. (thus in turn they are the people who fund usage of other 95% people)

So it is your choice whom you want to be.

PS: Buying fuel in motorways, inspite of higher costs, sometimes unavoidable if you car is running low on fuel.

MSE News: The 91% motorway service station mark-up

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