![]() ![]() Having run several Irish motorway service areas like this, and many petrol stations in the UK, Applegreen took over Welcome Break in 2018 and prepared to introduce the same prophecy with them. In July 2020, Applegreen sold fuel for 24.7 cent per litre in a promotion at some of their Irish motorway service areas. In fact on one occasion Applegreen were told to raise their prices because the queue was disrupting the motorway. Their entire business model assumes people will drive a long way to find cheap petrol, so when they founded their business in Ireland they heavily promoted their low fuel prices, hoping that customers would stop to buy more food from them in return. One name may be able to shake things up completely: Applegreen. Two high profile examples were Washington and Southwaite, as well as the 1996 Esso 'price watch' campaign. Over the years, several individual service areas have trialled selling fuel at a cheaper price, but they have quickly reverted to their standard pricing structure. Highway authorities have explicitly ruled out taking action against service areas with seemingly excessive fuel prices.Īway from the motorway, rural petrol stations usually look at other fuel prices within a 30 mile radius before setting their own, paying particular attention to what's charged further along the same road.Īdvertising at Welcome Break's new petrol stations. Petrol stations are not required to advertise their fuel price, but it is common practice that they do, if only to avoid disappointment at the pumps. Some business fuel cards even charge a flat rate across the country, irrespective of the advertised price.Ĭomplaints about motorway fuel prices were common as early as the 1970s, but a government study found that the prices were not unduly high and that some of the associated offers made for good value. This leads to motorists accusing the forecourt of taking advantage of a captive market. In practice, a lot of customers of motorway petrol stations are charging the price to their employer, so they are not worried about the bill. Regulations also made it difficult for them to cross-subsidise because motorway service areas are supposed to be competing with each other and not with neighbouring towns. ![]() This is fine for a business which is able to subsidise it, but traditionally motorway services were run on tight profit margins with high running costs. The cheap fuel that is sold in supermarkets makes very little profit, if any. Operators have been reluctant to comment on why their prices are so high, occasionally muttering about high operation costs or pressure from the forecourt brand. Newspaper articles frequently point out that as much as 20p per litre can be saved by driving a few miles. Petrol stations on motorways and major roads frequently receive complaints that they charge prices well above the prices charged locally, especially when compared with supermarkets. Most people still describe the facilities as 'petrol stations', with official terms like 'filling station' or 'forecourt' (which actually describes the manoeuvring area) sounding a bit clinical. Within the industry, the phrase 'petrol station' is out of favour, because they sell a lot of diesel and alternative fuels too. This has created the unusual situation where the two neighbouring facilities are effectively competing with each other to sell food. As Moto and Roadchef wanted to focus on catering, they have since sold most of their forecourts to the likes of EG Group. At motorway services, it always used to be the operator. The petrol station is the only service area facility which you can be sure will be open at night, and it's normally the one thing people expect to find in a service area.Īlthough most petrol stations are supplied by one of the major oil companies, and covered in their branding, sometimes they are ran by somebody else. All signposted service areas (on motorways and on A-roads) are required to sell fuel, but rest areas are not. ![]() While petrol stations can be found all over the world, this page looks at their contribution to service areas. It's also colloquially known as a 'garage' or 'service station', though those phrases are also used to describe mechanics and service areas. For the current price of fuel, you need to consult the fuel brand in question.Ī petrol station, filling station, forecourt, PFS (petrol filling station), FFS (fuel filling station) are all phrases which effectively describe the same thing. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |