Are motorway service stations a rip-off?

TRANSPORT Secretary Chris Grayling is so concerned about the rip-off prices charged by motorway service stations that he has asked the competition watchdog to investigate (Mail). I bought my first car in 1968, just a few years after the M1, Britain’s first full-length motorway, opened. Motorway fuel prices have always been excessive. I live in the Yorkshire Dales and have a holiday home in Cornwall, a trip of almost 400 miles. My car has a range of 500 miles, so I don’t need to stop for fuel on the motorway. I buy it

at the supermarket in Penzance, where they all compete on price. Anyone who fills up on the motorway is a mug, lazy or a company car driver.

RICH BOOMER, Skipton, N. Yorks. IN A free economy, prices are fixed by supply and demand. Yes, the fuel prices at service stations are high, but no one is forced to buy it. If everyone filled up before a long journey, prices would come down.

DEREK FLETCHER, Barrow upon Soar, Leics.

LET’S not waste Government time or money on an inquiry into motorway station prices. People make their own decisions — if they get ripped off, it’s their problem.

CHRIS PRITCHETT, Nottingham. WHY, after decades of ignoring this disgraceful situation, has the Government taken a sudden interest in prices at motorway service stations? Chris Grayling says he doesn’t want motorists running out of fuel, putting lives at risk. But as a retired Met Police traffic sergeant, I’d say this risk is down to the all-lane running policy and the loss of emergency hard shoulders, putting broken-down vehicles in real danger.

MIKE RAWSON, Cheshunt, Herts.