Memorial Day weekend is considered the unofficial kickoff to the summer travel season across the United States, as well as Northeast Ohio.
If you're one of the many planning for a trip over the holiday weekend, be prepared for more company on your trip. The American Automobile Association projects a record 1.7 million Northeast Ohioans will be on the move heading into the weekend, representing a 3% increase over last year’s numbers.
For the Northeast Ohio area, 1.5 million people will travel by automobile, 90,300 more via air travel, and another 68,800 will use buses, trains, and other forms of transportation, according to Lynda Lambert, a spokesperson for AAA East Central. Those hitting the roadways can expect cheaper gas prices compared to a year ago, saving them a few dollars in their wallets.
"Gasoline is 40 cents cheaper a gallon than it was this time last year. That's the good news,” Lambert said.
But gas prices have been creeping up in recent days.
“Gasoline has gone up four cents a gallon to $3.17. That is a product of two factors: Crude oil, the cost of crude oil, which accounts for more than 50% of the cost of a gallon of gas, and demand is starting to increase as we approach the unofficial kickoff to the summer travel season, which is Memorial Day," she said.
AAA says over 45.1 million people nationally are expected to travel from the period of May 22 to May 26, besting the previous high-water mark of 44 million set back in 2005. More than 39 million of those are forecasted to travel on the road. That’s a bump of a million travelers over 2024.
Lambert recommends drivers make a plan to avoid delays.
"If you're going by car, you want to make sure you map out your route ahead of time, and as far as gas prices are concerned, you can download the AAA app," she said. "It will help you find the cheapest gas along your route."
Timing your leave can make a big difference.
“If you are traveling by car – especially if you go through any metropolitan areas that are crowded any given day during rush hour – you want to make sure that you get up and get out before noon on either Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday or wait and leave later in the day, like late afternoon, early evening."
