Motorway services snack tax REVEALED: Drivers and their passengers pay more than double supermarket prices for sandwiches, drinks and chocolate bars
- Motorists buying snacks at motorway services are paying on average 57% more than supermarket prices
- That’s according to a report into food pricing at 21 motorway stations in the UK conducted earlier this month
- Prices for eight snacks were reviewed, including sweets, sausage rolls, coffees and bottles of water and pop
- At Tesco, these items would cost a total of £11.99 – the average at motorway services is £18.82, a 57% premium
Advertisement
It’s no secret that filling up with petrol and diesel at a motorway service station will cost significantly more than at a supermarket forecourt, but drivers and passengers are also being significantly stung when refuelling their stomachs, says a new report.
Mystery shoppers have been scouring motorway service station aisles up and down the country to check the price of popular snacks, from cheese sandwiches to sausage rolls, chocolate bars, bottles of pop and sweets.
It found that a motorway station shopping basket consisting of eight common items will cost more than double than it would for the same products in a Tesco store as motorists are hit with a sizable ‘services snack tax’.
Motorway snack tax REVEALED: Motorists and their passengers buying popular on-the-go items from motorways stations are paying more than double what they would at a supermarket, a new study has found. For instance, you’d typically pay £1.40 for a Tesco cheese sandwich – at the services, there’s a 150% premium
The comparison in snack costs has been conducted by Admiral Car Insurance as part of an ongoing review of pricing at motorway services.
The insurer previously investigated the premiums for snack items at motorway services in 2017 and 2019 and has been at it again in 2022, checking the price tags of the same eight good it has done previously.
It found that the combined price of the eight items at motorways services has risen by 13 per cent in the last three years – and by more than a fifth (21 per cent) compared to five years ago.
With food prices generally on the rise, it’s no surprise that motorway service stations have been hiking their charges for snacks that are popular on the go.
However, the cost difference for the haul of items when compared to a supermarket receipt is staggering.
Included in the review of pricing were the following products: a cheese sandwich; 500ml bottle of water; 500ml bottle of Coke; large 130g sausage roll; 45g packet of Walkers Ready Salted Crisps; 45g bar of Cadburys Dairy Milk chocolate; 190g packet of Wine Gums; regular latte coffee with cow’s milk with no syrup.
Where the eight selected items currently cost £11.99 if bought at a Tesco supermarket in Launceston, Cornwall, drivers and their passengers are charged £18.82 on average for the same goods.
That £6.67 hike translates to a 57 per cent premium at UK motorway services.
And the rip-off cost of snacks at service stations is even more evident when comparing items individually.
For instance, a standard packet of crisps costs drivers and passengers almost £1.50 at a service station, while a Tesco supermarket sells them for half as much, at 75p.
Motorists wanting a sugar boost from a standard-size Dairy Milk will have to hand over an average of £1.26 at a motorway services, while the same bar of chocolate in Tesco is just 60p – a 110 per cent price mark up.
Bottles of water are also 53 per cent more expensive than at supermarkets, which is made all the more surprising given the availability of free water refills at all 21 service stations reviewed by Admiral.
Of all the eight items put to review, only one was founded to be cheaper on average at motorway services than at supermarkets.
A latte coffee costs £3.26 on average across all the motorway services reviewed, while it is £3.35 at a Tesco supermarket, the insurer says.
In fact, 15 of the 21 service stations charged less for a caffeine hit than the major supermarket, the review found.
Admiral’s mystery shopper investigation also discovered that some motorway stations are significantly pricier than others, with the top 10 most expensive charging more than a 50 per cent premium than Tesco for the eight snacks reviewed.
Commenting on the study’s findings, Clare Egan, head of motor insurance at the provider, said: ‘It really does pay for motorists and passengers to prepare in advance of their journey.
‘Whilst there will be some justification in higher prices than supermarkets due to location and delivery costs in the supply chain, for motorway service stations to add an additional 56 per cent on average onto the price is significant.’
While most motorists will be aware that filling up with fuel at a service station will be far more expensive than it would at a supermarket forecourt, Admiral’s review also confirmed how much the price difference could be if you’re caught short on a motorway.
On average it found that motorway services – at the time of conducting the analysis – were charging £1.93-a-litre for petrol. That’s 54p-a-litre (14 per cent) more than the cost of unleaded at the Tesco supermarket used for the study.
Diesel was £1.99 on average at the services, which is a 60p per litre (7.5 per cent) premium compared to a supermarket forecourt.
However, Admiral says the analysis was carried out between 5 and 11 August, which means there could have been a slight change in pricing over the course of the seven days, with UK average fuel prices declining over recent weeks.
CARS & MOTORING: ON TEST
- French fancy: Sleek Peugeot 308 SW estate attracts admiring glances
- Vauxhall reaches for the stars with the latest Astra: We’ve driven it
- Cool ride: We test the new Citroen C5X on the hottest day of the year
- Choices, choices – there’s three types of Kia Niro – we test the PHEV
- Pininfarina’s £2m Battista accelerates quicker than a fighter jet
- Grand Juke of torque: Nissan’s new British-built hybrid compact SUV
- A supercar with ultra-green credentials: Hybrid McLaren Artura test
- Subaru’s cautious comeback: We test the new all-wheel drive Outback
- The brand new car with 7 seats for £16,645! New Dacia Jogger tested
- Sporty Cupra Born offers a taste of Spain. We drive the electric hatch
- Driving the fastest luxury SUV on the planet: Aston Martin DBX 707
- Royal Range Rover hits the road: We test the new £100k luxury SUV
- We go to the Arctic Circle to test the £400k Rolls-Royce Spectre EV
- BMW goes snap-happy: 2 Series Active Tourer has onboard selfie camera
- It might be red but Ferrari’s 296 GTB is a definitely a green supercar
- Test of a pre-production VW ID Buzz ahead of electric camper’s debut
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s off-roader DRIVEN: We test the new Ineos Grenadier
- Dacia Duster cuts a dash: We drive the new no-frills family SUV
- Is the Vauxhall Corsa really better than a Ford Fiesta? We test one
- In the week Kia tops UK sales charts, we try its all-new Sportage SUV
- Genesis will rock you! New GV70 Shooting Brake hits the right notes
- Absolutely fabia-lous: Skoda’s 4th-gen hatchback demonstrates staying…
- Is this the most high-tech car on the road? Mercedes’ £100k EQS driven
- Kia’s EV6 coupe-like crossover is creating an electrical storm at £41k
- Audi RS3 Sportback is a veritable muscle car that exudes performance
- Honda’s bold statement with new family oriented hybrid compact HR-V
- Peugeot’s new pride: Plug-in hybrid 308 will make you green with envy
- Back in black! We try Rolls-Royce’s heavy-metal Black Badge Ghost
- Ford’s electric battle hotting up with Tesla: Mustang Mach-E GT driven
- Another reason Y Tesla is a hit: Model Y driven ahead of UK arrival
- BMW’s new i4 might be the Cinderella model in its blossoming EV range
- Style, space and pace: Arkana SUV – Renault’s first hybrid – impresses
- Does BMW’s new electric car have the iX factor? We tests the £70k SUV
- Toyota Yaris Cross is a beefed-up version of its award-winning Yaris
- Is the Tesla Model 3 the future? RAY MASSEY says it is not perfect
- Futuristic Hyundai Ioniq 5 – the new zero-emission family car – driven
- Is VW’s £23k Golf Life too budget or all the car you could ever want?
- Funky, French and frugal: We test drive Citroen’s new C3 Aircross SUV
- Even by electric car standards, the new Audi Q4 e-tron feels different
- Does Aston Martin’s new model lead the pack? F1 Vantage pace car
- Should you Qash in on Nissan’s SUV? We test the new UK-built Qashqai
- RAY MASSEY ‘Is the Genesis GV80 a Korean copycat Bootleg Bentley?’
- The Highlander challenge: Toyota’s new hybrid seven-seat SUV tested
- Skoda’s hot estate goes hybrid: The £40k electrified Octavia vRS iV
- Kia Sorento switches gear and moves upmarket – is it still good value?
- Toyota’s new £50k Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car has a 400-mile range
- Is VW’s electric family SUV worthy of the crown World Car Of The Year?
- A century before Tesla: We have a go in a replica of World’s first EV
- Dacia’s hard bargain: First drive of Sandero, UK’s most affordable car
- Does Audi’s Q5 Sportback have substance or is the SUV too impractical?
- Jack of all trades: Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo is an £80k estate EV
- Vauxhall’s full of beans: First drive of the new Mokka crossover
- V8 or W12? Which Bentley Flying Spur should you buy (in your dreams)?
- Is Ford’s Mustang Mach-E worthy of the fabled muscle-car name?
- Is it seventh heaven for the latest Mercedes-Benz executive saloon?
- Ferrari’s £170k Roma is gunning for Aston Martin’s GT-car stronghold
- £60k BMW iX3 is an EV with a soundtrack by an Oscar-winning composer
- Citroen stays well within its comfort zone with new-look C4 family car
- ‘Bonjour, mon Ami’: We test Citroen’s diminutive Ami electric car
- Renault Zoe 1, Range Anxiety 0: We lived with the EV for a fortnight
- Fiat’s new 500 supermini is an EV-only city car with a 199-mile range
- Rally car for the road: We test Toyota’s new £30k GR Yaris hot hatch
- A little bright spark: Volkswagen’s all-electric ID.3 hatchback driven
- Road test: £60,000 XC40 Recharge is Volvo’s first fully-electric car
- AM Vantage Roadster: 0-60mpn in 3.7 seconds and roof down in under 7
- Porsche’s new family tank: Panamera driven at MoD proving grounds
- First drive: Rolls-Royce Ghost initially deemed too quiet to sell
- Can a hulking electric SUV be sporty? Audi e-tron Sportback driven
- Being Bond for a day driving Aston Martin’s £3.3million Goldfinger DB5
- ‘It’s 7 metres and 4 tonnes’: We test VW’s Grand California camper
- Driven: Bentley’s revamped Bentayga to take on Aston Martin’s DBX SUV
- The DBX has the weight of Aston Martin’s future on its shoulders
- ‘Honda e’s are good.’ We drive the Japanese firm’s cute and compact EV
- Considering a Tesla Model 3? Polestar 2 will make you think again
- Full of gas: RAY MASSEY drives Dacia’s new LPG-fuelled Duster
- Back on home soil: First UK test of the new Land Rover Defender
- Facelifted Jaguar F-Type range driven in Portugal ahead of UK arrival
- The Greta generation’s kind of car: At the wheel of the Mini Electric
Advertisement