Gas Prices Highest In Six Years As Millions Hit The Roads For July Fourth Weekend
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Millions of Americans will be getting a head start Thursday for the extended Fourth of July weekend.
About 41 million Americans are expected to travel at least 50 miles or more this Independence Day and as usual, the vast majority of travelers will be using their cars: 85 percent.
But if you are hitting the road, get ready for some high prices at the pump.
Gas Prices Highest In Six Years
Summer gas prices are the highest they've been in six years. AAA New York says the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline rose to $3.68 last week, 20 cents higher than July 4, 2013.
CHECK: Gas Prices | Traffic & Transit Guide | Fourth Of July Travel: What To Expect
That's the highest since July 2008, when it topped $4. Prices are slightly lower than the 2014 high of $3.70 set in April, and up 15 cents from a year ago.
In New York City, the current average is $4.06 per gallon, according to AAA New York. In Nassau and Suffolk counties, the average price is $4.03
In New Jersey, drivers are paying slightly less. The average in the Garden State is $3.57 per gallon, up 3 cents from a week ago and 19 cents from a year ago.
"A little outrageous," one driver told 1010 WINS' Roger Stern. "It's part of summer."
"I don't like it, but we just have to kind of live with it at this point," another driver said.
In you're hitting the rails for the holiday weekend, Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North are adding additional trains from Manhattan Thursday for the getaway rush.
Drivers Hit The Road For Holiday Weekend
Seventeen extra trains will be leaving from Grand Central Terminal between noon and 4 p.m. and 8 extra trains will be leaving from Penn Station between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
The MTA says train service that normally operates to the Hamptons and Montauk only on Fridays will run on Thursday instead.
There will also be earlier afternoon express train service Thursday on the Staten Island Railway.
On Friday, LIRR and Metro-North trains as well as New York City subways and buses will operate on a Saturday schedule.
For more information from the MTA, click here.
NJ TRANSIT is also offering early getaway bus and train service on Thursday.
Extra trains will be added on the Northeast Corridor, North Jersey Coast, Raritan Valley, Morris & Essex, Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines starting at 1 p.m.
There will also be extra buses from the Port Authority Bus Terminal and the Hudson River Waterfront starting at noon.
On Friday, trains will run on a weekend/ holiday schedule. Bus schedules will vary by route.
For more information from NJ TRANSIT, click here.
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