Holiday Travel Expected Despite High Gas Prices
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—Holiday travel gets off to an early start. Those traveling this Memorial holiday weekend can expect to have lots of company, despite higher gasoline prices.
Pat Warren has reaction from drivers to the price at the pumps.
The all-time record for summer gas prices was set in July 2008 at $4.11 a gallon. For a while it looked like gas prices would beat that record. But how low can they go?
It's the great Memorial weekend migration as people in Maryland gas up their cars and head for places other than their own, despite what they think of the price at the pump.
One motorist described gas prices as outrageous. They're "robbing us blind," he said.
We have nothing to do but make like a car and suck it up.
"I don't like it, nobody does," said George Starkey. "But I'm with the millions of other people [who] can't do a thing about it."
"They know they got us, so we do what we got to do," said Brenda Gibson. "It don't stop us from living. You only live once."
"If you want to go, you pay for it," said one holiday traveler.
"It's a vacation, it's a family thing, so it's well worth it," said another.
We've seen the biggest price jump for gasoline since 2008-- $1.05 a gallon higher than last year. AAA Mid-Atlantic reports gas prices averaging $3.81 a gallon nationwide. It's two cents higher in Maryland at $3.83 a gallon. Overall, gas is about 17 cents cheaper than it was May 4.
In fact, AAA Mid-Atlantic expects more than 659,000 Marylanders to feel it's worth their while to take this holiday road trip. But it's also clear that many are making an exception to their already scaled down driving habits.
"We don't drive as much as we usually do," said James Jones. "We cut back a whole lot."
"Yeah, I ride my motorcycle more," said one motorist.
"Most of my driving is very local," said Sharon Shaw.
"We just can't afford these high gas prices," said another motorist.
AAA is also expecting an 11 percent increase in air travel. Thousands more will be traveling by train.
The state's highest gas prices are in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. with an average of $3.87 a gallon.
