Spike In Gas Prices Not Affecting Memorial Day Weekend Travel
By Tim Jimenez
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Gas prices have been rising leading up to Memorial Day weekend, according to Triple-A Mid-Atlantic. But they say that won't stop more than 400,000 Philadelphia-area residents from hitting the road.
Triple-A Mid-Atlantic's latest gas watch has the average price in Philadelphia at $3.58 a gallon. It's up four cents from last week and 12 cents from the end of April. Triple-A spokeswoman Jenny Robinson says it's not affecting most local travelers.
"62%, close to two-thirds, saying gas prices are not going to impact their plans," she says.
Robinson says the 38% who are concerned about gas prices are finding other ways to save.
"For the most part they're not going to change their trip," she says. "What they're going to do is economize in other areas. 8% of travelers tell us they're going to take a shorter trip and 3% will travel by an alternate mode of transportation."
Robinson says effects of the government sequester and this year's end of the payroll tax holiday are to blame for less spending. As for gas projections for the rest of the summer, Robinson says they're predicting lower prices, but with hurricane season approaching, those projections aren't set in stone.
