HGV drivers remain the least satisfied users of motorway services, with concerns over parking, showers and facilities, according to a new survey, prompting the RHA to call for improvements.
HGV drivers are significantly less satisfied with motorway services than other users, with new research highlighting shortcomings in parking capacity, shower provision and facilities for drivers to relax.
The findings come from the Transport Focus 2026 Motorway Services User Survey, which gathered feedback from 37,000 visitors at motorway service areas (MSAs) across England, Scotland and Wales.
While overall satisfaction with motorway services has increased to 95%, up from 94% in 2023 and 93% in 2022, satisfaction among HGV drivers stands at just 90%.
Professional drivers also recorded satisfaction of 90%, making the two groups consistently the least satisfied across all three survey waves.
The figures represent a five-percentage-point gap between HGV drivers and visitors overall, underlining the difference in experience between those using services for a short break and drivers who depend on them for essential rest and welfare facilities during their working day.
The report identified HGV facilities as requiring more attention than any other area, specifically highlighting parking capacity, showers and the value of the parking package.
The Net Promoter Score (NPS), which measures how likely visitors are to recommend a service area, also reflected the difference. HGV drivers recorded a score of +31, compared with +38 overall. However, the report noted that HGV drivers had made the greatest improvement of any visitor group since 2022, increasing their score by seven points.
The survey also examined HGV drivers’ views of individual facilities. Across all motorway service areas, 29% of HGV drivers rated the number of showers as fairly good, while 23% considered provision very good. On shower-area cleanliness, 28% gave a fairly good rating and 43% a very good rating. Facilities where drivers could relax and socialise received a fairly good rating from 30% of respondents, while 27% rated them very good.
The report does not provide a full breakdown of the remaining responses for these questions, so it is not possible to establish precisely how many drivers rated the facilities as poor or very poor. Nevertheless, the findings indicate that there is room for improvement in areas that are particularly important to professional drivers.
Responding to the findings, the RHA said the lower satisfaction levels came as little surprise, given the experiences regularly reported by drivers.
Ashton Cull, RHA senior public affairs lead, said: “Lower satisfaction levels among lorry drivers are no surprise to us, given the poor experiences we hear about from drivers up and down the country.
“Every trucker deserves access to high-quality facilities when they’re out on the road, but sadly that’s not always the case. Poorly maintained toilet and shower facilities, along with limited food choices, are regular complaints.
“A shortage of 11,000 safe and secure lorry parking spaces leaves truckers vulnerable to organised criminal gangs targeting fuel and cargo.
“This needs to change and it’s why we’re working with the industry, government and others to speed up efforts to close that gap and make sure drivers have somewhere they can park and rest safely, securely and with access to the basic amenities we all expect when working.”
The survey also revealed that Extra and Moto jointly topped the operator rankings, both achieving 96% overall satisfaction, followed by Welcome Break on 95% and Roadchef on 93%.
Satisfaction with toilet facilities remained at 92%, unchanged from 2023, while satisfaction with staff friendliness and helpfulness increased to 95%, from 93% in the previous survey.
Transport Focus said the survey was designed to provide a consistent measure of customer satisfaction and help operators identify where improvements are needed.
