Talk:Rest area

No WiFi at Texas Safety Rest Stops
The article states that "Texas provides Wi-Fi access at its state-owned rest areas...". However, Texas only provides wifi at Texas Travel Information Centers. Rriggstx (talk) 19:56, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 2 one external links on Rest area. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20070811064142/http://www.ksturnpike.com:80/services.html to http://ksturnpike.com/services.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20060827030728/http://www.in.gov:80/dot/div/tollroad/TollRoadInfo.pdf to http://www.in.gov/dot/div/tollroad/TollRoadInfo.pdf

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Cheers. —cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 17:52, 18 October 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just added archive links to 1 one external link on Rest area. Please take a moment to review my edit. If necessary, add after the link to keep me from modifying it. Alternatively, you can add to keep me off the page altogether. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20080210023816/http://ksturnpike.com:80/services.html to http://ksturnpike.com/services.html

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at ).

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 01:14, 19 March 2016 (UTC)

Todhills only official motorway "rest area" in the UK?
"However, in December 2008, after a change in the law, the only current official 'rest area' in the UK was created at Todhills, on the newly opened section of the M6 between Carlisle and the Scottish border."

I've noticed a few of these on the A1(M), though I don't remember the locations. Most probably on the northernmost A1(M) stretch, though possibly on the South Yorkshire stretch. I presumed these were built/opened before the road was upgraded to motorway, and may have met the criteria for being called "Services" on an A road but don't meet the stricter criteria for being called "Services" on a motorway and so are signposted as "Rest area". Does this mean these are unofficial rest areas, or that this statement is out of date? — Smjg (talk) 23:11, 5 December 2019 (UTC)


 * I've just discovered that Motorway service area claims there are three "rest areas" – the other two being Leeming Bar and Scotch Corner. I guess those must have been the ones I was thinking of.  So it seems we have a contradiction.... — Smjg (talk) 22:43, 6 December 2019 (UTC)

It was me that added the text about there being three official Rest Areas to the Motorway Service Area page. I based that on the reference I added there: https://motorwayservicesonline.co.uk/Rest_area. That seems like a reasonably authoritative site. But I have no primary knowledge of this, and I am very happy for a consensus to emerge that there is only one, or three, or whatever the truth is, and both pages be brought into congruence. I note that the two pages also diverge on when the process of switching from the operators leasing the sites to owning them started.Johnstoo (talk) 10:07, 7 January 2020 (UTC)

Merger proposal 21 July 2020
Is there a reason why Truck stop (service station in the UK, travel center in the US) should not be merged into Rest area (service area, rest stop, service centre)? --Melsj (talk) 07:12, 21 July 2020 (UTC)
 * Oppose They are two different entities. From Truck stop: "Truck stops should not be confused with rest areas or motorway service areas which cater mostly to cars and are often run by or leased from a government or tollway corporation." -- User:BiologicalMe
 * Oppose Concur with above. It is clear that User:Melsj did not actually read either article---the differences are quite obvious to anyone who's read those articles, as well as anyone who travels frequently. (I already understood the difference between a truck stop and a rest area by the time I graduated from high school.)  Go review aerial photographs on Google Maps of TravelCenters of America by searching for "TA Travel Centers."  TA Travel Centers are normally located on private land on regular locally-maintained streets near freeway interchanges, because of the American ban on private commercial operations at most rest areas.  They have a small parking lot for cars and a gigantic parking lot for trucks, their primary customer base.  They also often have a separate fuel station with its own canopy and signage which is specifically designated for trucks. In contrast, rest areas are located adjacent to the freeway/tollway mainline lanes, and their parking lots for cars and trucks are more evenly balanced in size.  They always have their own dedicated "REST AREA" exit ramps and signage and are owned and maintained directly by the state government. Since most American rest areas cannot host commercial operations, they lack the private restaurants, gas stations, and convenience stores found at commercial truck stops.  So all they are good for is pulling over to use the restroom, go for a brief walk, and buy junk food from a vending machine.  --Coolcaesar (talk) 18:29, 22 July 2020 (UTC)

Service areas in Spain
Rest areas may be uncommon in Spain, but I can say from experience that service areas or travel plazas are as common as in other countries there. Vernel222 (talk) 12:26, 3 August 2022 (UTC)