Chill Insurance lists best service stations in Ireland

Linda Stewart — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 11:13:18 +0000

Chill Insurance has ranked the top service stations in Ireland, looking at multiple factors including amenities, range of catering choices, cleanliness and demand.

The company rates Lusk Service Station in Dublin as the best in Ireland, thanks to its wide range of amenities and number of food options. Amenities include charging points for ESB ecars, showers, an indoor and outdoor play area, a range of catering options, and tourist and motorway information points.

Runner up place goes to Junction 14 Mayfield, described as the perfect spot to stop off, refill and recharge with free wi-fi, e-charging and ATM. With 10 food places including Subway, Papa John’s and Spar, Junction 14 Mayfield has the largest range of catering, making it the best service station in Ireland for foodies.

Athlone Services at Moate, Co. Westmeath, comes hot on their heels in third place, offering showering facilities for weary travellers, along with six different catering options and charging points for both ESB cars and IONITY.

Fourth place goes to Applegreen Castlebellingham in Dundalk, Co. Louth, one of the most in-demand service stations in the country, with the highest number of monthly Google searches. Amenities include a Tesla supercharger, showers, indoor and outdoor play areas and picnic tables, and Chill’s study found that it’s the cleanest service station in Ireland.

In fifth place is Gorey Services in Co. Wexford, which is Circle K’s largest service station, offering charging points for ESB ecars and IONITY, showers and even a HGV Covid-19 test centre. Gorey Services scored joint second highest for cleanliness and being quick to use, along with a kids play area.

Other highly reviewed service stations include P0rtlaoise Plaza in Co Laois; Kinnegad Plaza in Co Westmeath; Barack Obama Plaza in Co Tipperary; Birdhill Services on the M7; and Galway Plaza.

To find out more, visit the Chill Insurance blog.

The post Chill Insurance lists best service stations in Ireland appeared first on Ireland's Forecourt & Convenience Retailer.

Circle K plans to roll out its own charging equipment across its Irish sites

Linda Stewart — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 13:59:43 +0000

Circle K intends to roll out its own charging equipment across Ireland in the next five to seven years, according to senior director of fuels Jonathan Diver.

The company already has charging equipment in a quarter of its sites, but now plans to install its own equipment, he reveals in an in-depth interview with Ireland’s Forecourt and Convenience Retailer.

“We have ESB chargers in 40 sites and Ionity superchargers – which can charge a car in as low as 10 to 20 minutes – in six sites. These are mainly on national routes but going forward we’ll see more charging facilities in urban hubs such as Dublin and Cork,” Mr Diver said.

“Sites have been identified and we’re working closely with ESB so there will be a significant number each year.”

Changing economy

The company is keeping abreast of a rapidly changing fuel economy by keeping tabs on consumer demand and drawing on global insights throughout its colleagues in the international Circle K network.

“In Norway, where EVs outsell traditional combustible engine cars, our colleagues are leading our global EV strategy,” he says.

“We see forecourts there that retail only electricity, while in others EV chargers sit alongside petrol and diesel pumps. We understand what the future might look like in this regard and this will be crucial to our own EV journey here in Ireland.”

Circle K has just published new consumer research revealing that over half of Irish motorists believe they will be driving electric vehicles by 2030, and two in five would consider switching to electric within the next three years.

It is also eyeing other proven global technologies to help decarbonise Ireland’s transport sector, including compressed natural gas (CNG), renewable gases and biofuels, such as 100% hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) which the company is trialling in Denmark.

Low lying fruit

And Mr Diver warns that while there are plenty of measures that can be taken in the short term to reduce emissions while the full roll-out of EV continues, the industry has been challenged by a lack of government policy.

“There are alternatives to fossil fuels – we can blend more with biofuels. It’s low-lying fruit and can be easily done depending on government policy – we could make substantive changes in a matter of months,” he says.

Read the full interview with Jonathan Diver in the latest edition of Ireland’s Forecourt and Convenience Retailer magazine.

The post Circle K plans to roll out its own charging equipment across its Irish sites appeared first on Ireland's Forecourt & Convenience Retailer.

ionity Archives - Ireland's Forecourt & Convenience Retailer

Chill Insurance lists best service stations in Ireland

Circle K plans to roll out its own charging equipment across its Irish sites