Professional Drivers
This page attempts to give some general information aimed at drivers of Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) and coaches who use motorway services. It is only intended to be a brief overview and for answers to specific queries you should ask the operator.
Coach Drivers
Coaches are valuable to service areas as they bring a large amount of custom, but this custom can lead to sudden surges which the services struggle to handle. This also means that the services only benefit when there are many passengers present, so to prevent people using the discounts in other circumstances strict and frequently-changing rules often apply to them.
The different schemes are listed and compared below. To find out which service area is owned by which operator, use the Services Search. These discounts are for vehicles carrying passengers only.
Most motorway service areas have dedicated coach parks. A-road services are more of a mixed back, and coaches are often expected to park with HGVs - if HGV parking is available. Complaints about unauthorised vehicles blocking the coach park should be directed to the operator.
| Operator | Full details | How to apply | Restaurant Discount | Retail Discount | Prize Draw? | Other Benefits |
| Moto | Website | No club - approach staff in WHSmith | 1p food voucher | £2 retail voucher when arriving with 25 passengers or more | No | Special offers advertised online |
| Welcome Break | Website | No club - approach staff in WHSmith | £10 meal voucher (Burger King, Starbucks, Harry Ramsden's, Pret a Manger, Chopstix) or a £6 Waitrose voucher, purchasable for 1p | £1-£5 Love2Shop voucher issued when arriving with 25 passengers or more | No | |
| Roadchef | Website | Apply online. | 6-19 passengers = £5; 20+ passengers = £10. Meal voucher can be used then or another day | Vouchers can be converted to WHSmith, Spar, Days Inn or Love2Shop vouchers | No | Special offers are sometimes advertised on Twitter |
| Extra | Website | No club - approach staff | Meal voucher issued when arriving with 20 passengers or more | No | Access to Cobham toilet drop | |
| Westmorland | Website | Mailing list | none | none | No | Used to keep members informed on specific offers and news |
Lorry Drivers
Although lorry drivers don't bring any custom with them, they are regular users of motorway services and as a result the operators are keen to have them use as many facilities as possible. Most services these days now provide showers (the quality of which does vary), and allow you to open up an account for parking on request.
- Moto operate a 'food for fuel' scheme where 100 litres of fuel gives a 50p voucher which is redeemable in Arlo's, Costa and EDC. They also operate truckstops at Barton Park and Lymm.
As of 2008, dedicated motorway truckstops are now permitted, but as of 2019 none have been proposed. Several new truckstops have opened near A-roads in recent years.
Unfortunately, there is a history of HGV drivers causing more trouble than any other class of vehicle at service areas. Many services have introduced a no-tolerance policy for HGVs parking in the wrong place, even if it was a mistake, and will clamp on sight. This can be difficult because many sections of the motorway network have a severe shortage of HGV parking, something Highways England have acknowledge but done little about.
There have also been reports of some drivers behaving irresponsibly, which little can be done about, but it does weaken the case for improving facilities for HGV drivers. Improvements start at the centre.
Further Reading
- Transport Cafe - a website providing details on smaller facilities aimed at HGV drivers