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Road Trip To Grandma’s Costs About The Same This Year
November 29, 2013
That Thanksgiving road trip to grandma’s house cost about the same this year as last, with gas prices at about the same mark as one year ago.
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in the Pensacola metro was $3.34 on Thanksgiving day, up from $3.31 last year. In the North Escambia area Thursday, an informal survey showed gas prices ranging from $3.39 in Century to $3.31 in Cantonment.
After falling to a multi-year low of $3.18 per gallon on November 12, the national average price of gas has now increased for 13 straight days and jumped 10 cents to a current average of $3.28.
AAA projects 43.4 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, a decrease of 1.5 percent from the 44 million people who traveled last year. This decrease falls just shy of last Thanksgiving’s four-year peak since the recession-driven declines in 2008-2009 when Thanksgiving travel fell by 25 percent. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as Wednesday, November 27 to Sunday, December 1.
Impact of gasoline prices on travel plans
AAA estimates that most drivers will pay the cheapest gas prices for the Thanksgiving holiday since 2010. The national average is at the cheapest level of the year and should continue to drop in the weeks ahead. Drivers can find stations selling gas for less than $3.00 per gallon in the vast majority of states. The decreased cost of gas will provide consumers with real savings that could be used for other purposes on the trip.
Automobile travel remains dominant mode of transportation, air travel decreases
Approximately 90 percent of travelers or 38.9 million people plan to travel by automobile this Thanksgiving. This is a 1.6 percent decrease over the 39.5 million people who traveled by auto last year. Air travel is expected to decrease 3.7 percent as 3.14 million holiday travelers will take to the skies.
Those traveling by air will find airfares comparable to last year according to AAA’s Leisure travel Index. For the Thanksgiving holiday the average lowest round-trip rate is $187 for the top 40 U.S. air routes compared to $188 last year. Approximately 1.4 million travelers will choose other modes of transportation, including rail, bus and cruise ship.
Pictured: Traffic was light early Thanksgiving afternoon on Highway 29/North Century Boulevard in Century. Pictured: A gallon of regular unleaded gas was $3.39 Thursday in Century. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
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