Swiss motorway service stations heavily criticised

Swiss motorway restaurants failed to impress the judges Keystone

A survey of motorway service stations across Europe has given low marks to Switzerland. Swiss service stations - once the envy of the rest of Europe - fell down in the key areas of safety and hygiene.

Six Swiss service stations were among 95 facilities surveyed by an association of European automobile associations, including Switzerland’s Touring Club of Switzerland (TCS).

It found that three failed to meet minimum standards.

“As a whole the Swiss motorway service stations, which were once so exemplary, obtained catastrophic results,” the testers said in their report. “Fifty per cent of the sites tested were judged ‘inadequate’, while the other half were considered no more than `satisfactory’.”

The service stations – Grauholz North, Gunzgen North, Würenlos, Herrlisberg South, Werdenberg East and La Cote Nord – were judged according to 10 criteria, including traffic safety, standard of food provision, hygiene and prices.

Tests on the toilets and eating areas of the six Swiss service stations found the majority failed to meet hygiene standards.

But it was the standard of the food on offer that the testers objected to most. In their report they said all six motorway restaurants offered poor value for money and insufficient choice.

“The high level of Swiss cooking, which was a feature of the past, was barely discernible this year,” the report said. “None of the Swiss restaurants tested bothered to offer their clients healthy food at lower prices. The cheapest dishes all consisted of meat and chips.”

But it wasn’t all bad news for the Swiss motorway stations, which were praised for their good shops and kiosks.

Overall France came out best in the survey, ahead of Germany.

swissinfo with agencies