The Eye-Popping Fast Food Drive-Thru Price Gouge You Need To Watch Out For

With inflation top of mind for many, people are increasingly watching their wallets. Consumers are creating meal plans to save on grocery bills, and even wealthier households are avoiding the most expensive grocery store chains and turning to discount retailers to do their shopping. Restaurant prices have been climbing, too, prompting consumers to take measures like adults opting for fast-food kids' meals — and their lower price points — while some are skipping eating out altogether.

But what about price traps you don't see coming? My family encountered one recently that left me staggered — and it's something that could happen to any unsuspecting consumer, anywhere — and it routinely happens to the very people we rely on to deliver us our food. The culprit: fast-food chains located in truck stops.

An unsuspecting diner can be totally price gouged at a chain restaurant if it's located inside a gas station targeted at truckers, getting hit with insanely high price markups compared to the same restaurant in a non-truck-stop location. The purported reason: Big rigs can't fit into ordinary parking spaces or normal-sized restaurant drive-thrus, so truckers are largely obliged to get food from truck stops via their specially sized accommodations. They're essentially a captive audience for this reason, so truck stop operators have free rein to charge whatever they want — and some take big advantage. If you're driving a standard car — not a big rig — and you cruise through one of these drive-thrus, you're going to get hit with a big-rig-sized bill, too.

Bear in mind, not every truck stop charges over-the-top prices. As self-identified individuals working in the trucking industry have pointed out on social media, truckers keep track of which stops are money traps and try to avoid them. Sometimes, though, it's an expensive lesson to find out a location is a price-gouger.

I learned about this particular wallet drain the hard way. It was late on a weeknight, and I was tired and didn't feel like cooking. So, my husband and I decided to hit up a Taco Bell located in a freeway truck stop a few miles away. There aren't many fast food options in our small town, and the Taco Bell and Subway at the local TravelCenters of America location were the only restaurants open that time of night. What should have been an unremarkable trip to the drive-thru — intended as a leisurely meal on the cheap — turned into total sticker shock. Imagine our surprise when the cashier stated the total for our small family meal: more than $40 for a few tacos, a burrito, and a couple of Crunchwraps. I had been expecting to pay around $20.

Certain that it was a mistake — a tired, late-night teenage employee being careless at the register — I called the restaurant the next day. But it was no mistake. A worker on the phone confirmed the inflated price. Most egregious of all on our order were the tacos. For a basic crunchy taco — not the fancy supreme ones with sour cream, tomatoes, and Doritos taco shells, mind you; just the little plain-Jane, bottom-tier tacos — we paid $3.59 each, not including tax. These same tacos cost as little as $0.99 in other Taco Bell locations. The two Taco Bells located in the next major town, about 20 minutes away, charge $1.99, as of November 2025. Other items, like the bean burritos, are also almost double the price of a normal Taco Bell at this truck stop location.

To vent my frustration about this unexpected whack to my wallet and to warn others, I turned to a local community Facebook page. Dozens — including truck drivers — chimed in with similar experiences they'd had at this and other truck stops, and herein came the enlightenment: This was no inflation-driven aberration. This truck stop — and countless others like it — have reportedly been price gouging this way for decades.

I learned that this particular Taco Bell and its companion Subway, though part of national chains, are operated by TravelCenters of America, not by the corporate restaurant entities. The Taco Bell at our truck stop doesn't even show up on Taco Bell's location finder. The Subway does show up on Subway's corporate website, but its menu and pricing aren't available online. This further obfuscates matters because you can't view the menus and see the price hikes beforehand.

Taco Bell is aware that its franchisees can — and do — charge widely varying prices. On the FAQ page of the Taco Bell website is posted the question, "Why is pricing different at some Taco Bell locations?" The rather generic response states, "Price and participation vary. Contact your local restaurant for prices, hours and participation."

Like TravelCenters of America, various truck stop brands house national chain restaurants on their premises. Options at TravelCenters of America range from sit-down establishments like IHOP and Fuddruckers to fast-food brands like Pizza Hut, Burger King, DQ, and, of course, Taco Bell. If you find yourself obliged to stop at one, you can avoid a potentially painful bill. Don't blindly give your usual order — study the menu first before committing yourself. Empower yourself to walk out if the pricing is unreasonable.