How far do you plan to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday? Will you travel outside of Riverside County?
Despite higher gas prices, travelers are driving longer distances, this Thanksgiving, according to GasBuddy’s Annual Holiday Travel Survey/ The 2017 holiday is expected to see a 4 percent increase in travelers driving for 10 or more hours over Thanksgiving compared to 2016.
GasBuddy also projects that Thanksgiving will see the highest average gas prices since 2014 as the country prepares for the busiest traveling weekend of the year. Yet the average gas price in four of five U.S. states is lower than a week ago, coming as the number of Americans driving is expected to surge by 20 percent* over last Thanksgiving according to GasBuddy’s Annual Holiday Travel Survey.
GasBuddy projects the national average gas price this Thanksgiving will be $2.53 per gallon, the priciest Thanksgiving in three years (2014: $2.79), though not as high as the peak on Thanksgiving in 2012 ($3.44). Additionally, average gas prices have risen 9 cents in the last month, the largest pre-Thanksgiving Day increase since 2007, when average prices rose 26 cents in the 30 days leading up to the holiday.
“This year has been unique at the pumps. Gas prices spent much of the time in the weeks approaching Thanksgiving by rising when typically, they would be on a sizeable downward trend,” Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a news release. “On average Americans are paying nearly 40 cents a gallon more than last year, which means collectively we’re spending $800 million more on fuel over the Thanksgiving travel period. Drivers should pay close attention to prices to avoid overpaying.”
