Record Crowds Expected To Travel Over Christmas
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- If you're visiting family and friends or just going home for the holidays, you're not alone. Record crowds are expected to be traveling over the end of year holiday period.
Derek Valcourt has more on the rush and how we're all getting there.
Cars, planes and trains are all busy. Many waited until Christmas Eve to hit the road.
It seems almost everyone's got somewhere to go for the holidays.
"We're headed to New York City," said one traveler.
"I'm going down to see the grandkids," said another.
In fact, AAA says across the country, holiday travel will be up slightly. They estimate some 94.5 million Americans will travel 50 or more miles from home. Nearly two million of them Marylanders. About 91% of them are hitting the road.
"Most of the time, the traffic's moving pretty good," said one.
Traffic on parts of 95---one of the nation's busiest corridors---was already congested and slow but some drivers found it easy.
"Not too bad but a little more traffic than normal," said one.
"Yeah, coming down south has been pretty good," said another.
While travel is up overall, travel on trains is down slightly, about two percent.
Still, Baltimore's Penn Station was busy on Christmas Eve with travelers who prefer not to drive to Grandma's house.
"Why drive? We like train travel and this was a good opportunity to take a train," said one.
"I'm going to New York and I'm not driving because traffic is going to be insane," said another.
"And traffic is always crazy, especially on BW Parkway," said a third.
Air travel is down as well, with slightly lower gas prices making the cost of a road trip a little easier to bear.
Last minute travelers heading to BWI Tuesday night to leave or to pick up arriving friends and family will want to check on their flight status before they leave. Lots of flights are reporting delays, not so much because of problems here but problems with weather in other cities.
Only five percent of Maryland's travelers will be going by air; four percent will travel by bus, trains or cruise ships.
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