The study, carried out in June, focused on the three main concerns motorists have when stopping at service areas: access to clean toilets, refuelling facilities and food and drink. In addition, the ADAC test, which looked at 40 service areas, provided an insight into the quality of the facilities in terms of their food offerings, sanitary conditions and pricing policies.
Unfortunately, none of the 40 service areas tested achieved a “very good” rating. However, 15 of them achieved a respectable “good” rating, while the majority (24) fell into the “adequate” category. Fortunately, there were no service areas that received a “poor” or “very poor” rating.
In terms of hygiene, the ADAC testers were pleased to find that all the service stations scored well for their well-maintained and clean toilets. It’s worth noting, however, that these positive ratings apply mainly to regular periods outside the peak holiday season.
While the food available at service areas was generally satisfactory, the prices left much to be desired. Although the choice of food was good to good in many places, it was often overpriced, especially when compared with nearby motorway service stations. This shortcoming led to an overall failure in the price category.
The top performer in the test was the Ohrenbach West service station, located 20 kilometres north of Rothenburg ob der Tauber on the A7. It received the highest overall score for its wide range of food, barrier-free access and well-equipped baby changing facilities.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Hermsdorfer Kreuz West service station on the A9, west of Gera, scored poorly. There was a lack of accessible facilities and no accessible toilets. In addition, the limited choice of hot food during the test and the high prices also affected its ranking.
Additional services: room for improvement
While rest areas had tyre pressure gauges and fast charging points (43 or 50 kW) for electric vehicles, the availability of high-power charging points (150 kW and above) remained limited, the study found.
As electric vehicles become more widespread, increasing the number of high-power charging points will be crucial to reducing waiting times for motorists.
Also, services for campers, such as freshwater refilling and toilet emptying facilities, were conspicuously absent, ADAC warns.
In 2022, ADAC tested the so-called “unmanned rest areas” and the results were similarly disappointing, if not worse. Last year, almost 0% of unmanned service areas in Germany failed in the “sanitary” category and there was also room for improvement in the area of safety.
Photo credits @ Oxfordian Kissuth, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons