Drive-through
However, during peak periods, to keep the queue down and avoid traffic flow problems, drive-throughs occasionally switch to an "order at the window, then park in a designated space" model where the customer will receive their food from an attendant when it is ready to be served.
Drive-throughs have generally replaced drive-ins in popular culture, and are now found in the vast majority of modern American fast food chains.
Most drive-through lanes are designed so the service windows and speaker are on the driver's side of the car, for example, in left-hand traffic (right-hand drive) countries such as the UK, Ireland, Australia, India and New Zealand, the windows will be on the right side of the drive-through lane, and vice versa in right-hand traffic (left-hand drive) countries such as North America and mainland Europe.
[2] According to QSR's 2024 annual survey, Taco Bell was the fastest fast-food chain in the United States regarding drive-thru service time, with an average wait of 194.16 seconds.
Charles, a McDonald's franchisee based in Boulder, Colorado, was the first to design and implement this innovation, which resulted in significantly increased per-unit volume.
[citation needed] In 2010, the Casa Linda, Texas, franchise of McDonald's opened a drive-through/walk-up-only store with no indoor seating although it has a small patio with tables.
[citation needed] Shortly after the Grand National Bank in St Louis opened up a drive-through, including a slot to the side for night time deposits.
[citation needed] Alcoholic beverages have been sold at a drive-through liquor store (called a "Beer Through", a "Cruise Through", a "Brew Thru" in the U.S. eastern Mid-Atlantic coast,[17] or a "Pony Keg" or "Party Barn" in certain areas; generally illegal in the Northeast and West) During the COVID-19 pandemic, drive-through testing became a common approach around the world for testing people who were potentially infected with the virus.
[25] If the average motorist avoided idling for just 3 minutes every day of the year, CO2 emissions would be reduced by 1.4 million tonnes annually, or the equivalent of taking 320,000 cars off the road.
[31] Long drive-through lines in the United States have been reported to cause traffic backups, blocking emergency vehicles and city buses and increasing the risk of collisions and pedestrian injuries.
However, the walk-up windows should not be confused with small establishments that customers are lined up for services such as mobile kitchens, kiosks, or concession stands.
[42] Since the COVID-19 pandemic an increasing number of restaurants, including bakeries and pizzerias, have introduced sliding windows that are licensed by the local municipality for customer transactions.
[43] An example is when McDonald's entered a new market in Russia where the majority of families did not own cars, the owners developed the walk-up windows as an alternative.
[42] Another reason is to offer extended service hours and maintain a safe environment for employees, such as a bulletproof walk-up window in high-crime areas.
[46] On 20 July 2013, a woman was fined for taking her horse inside a McDonald's restaurant in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom, after being refused service at the drive-through.
[51] The Willamette Week tested five locations, and in all cases customers without cars received satisfactory service: McDonald's first opened a ski-through called McSki in the ski resort of Lindvallen, Sweden, in 1996.
