The Department for Transport (DfT) will begin a trial of signs that will allow motorists to compare the price of fuel at motorway service stations.

The scheme, which was announced as part of the chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement on December 3rd, will be piloted with signs at five service stations on the M5 between Bristol and Exeter, starting in early 2015. If the trial is successful, the signs are expected to be installed around the country by the end of 2015.

An Office of Fair Trading report in 2013 found that fuel prices were significantly higher at motorway service stations than petrol stations elsewhere. The average difference was 7.5 pence per litre for petrol and 8.3 pence per litre for diesel.

Transport minister Robert Goodwill said that the scheme would address the current inequality, adding: “For too long drivers have been ripped off by petrol prices on motorways.“