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Welcome Break is poised to raise parking charges for trucks across its network of motorway service areas (MSAs) in the UK. Some truck drivers think the charges are already too high, but Welcome Break say they reflect the costs of running the sites. Driver Paul Dauvney, who works for Betchworth Heavy Transport, learnt of the imminent rise in charges for the Welcome Break site on the M40 near Warwick last week.

He says: "It's already £20 to park with a meal voucher, or £17.50 without it,  and the food isn't good, especially compared to Europe, where you only pay €5 to park - and that's refundable against your meal." Welcome Break would not confirm the timing or level of the parking price rise, but it is understood it will come into force in June and that other Welcome Break MSAs will also be raising charges.

Dauvney says another irritant is that Welcome Break's charges vary between sites he would prefer a uniform cost across the network. A Welcome Break spokesman replies that these price variations are "effectively governed by supply and demand". He adds: "We do take on board the comments of truck drivers, who are an important part of our business. There is no denying that [parking trucks on mainland] Europe is cheaper, but circumstances are different there and our charges  simply reflect the costs of running our sites."

Welcome Break also says that its own customer surveys suggest that the standard of its food is improving. The company adds that the latest round of price increases are not as a result of its recent change in ownership. Welcome Break was bought by Appia Investments in March for a sum believed to be in the region of £500m.