SAN ANTONIO – Free from the pandemic’s grip, record numbers of people are gassing up for star-spangled road trips as gas prices rocket to their highest in years.
Rick Yambo said he is river-bound for the holiday weekend.
“Oh, yeah. You can’t work all the time,” he said.
He can expect a Fourth of July parade of traffic.
“This July Fourth holiday period will actually be the busiest on record,” said Daniel Armbruster with AAA Texas. “We’re going to have 3.7 million Texans that are expected to travel for leisure. That’s even higher than the record set by Texans in 2019.”
The vast majority, 3.3 million, will travel by car, truck or family SUV.
Also surging is the price of gas. Locally the price of a gallon is up 12 cents in the past week. It’s 90 cents higher than last year when travel bit the dust. The average price in San Antonio Thursday was $2.75, the most expensive in nearly seven years.
“I’ve been driving since gas was $3.50 to $4, so anything less is a good thing,” said driver Gabriel Escobar.
If you are traveling, AAA says the worst time for traffic congestion is late afternoon Friday. The best time to leave is after 7 p.m. Thursday or early mornings.
“I always go early to avoid traffic,” Yambo said. “It’s the better way.”