By Moses Leos III
Travelling for the holidays isn’t on the radar for New Braunfels resident Johnny Roberts. But Roberts’ children, who visit during Christmas, will be putting the rubber to the road this holiday season.
With gas prices continuing to plummet across the country, Roberts believes it could spur more people to also travel during the holidays.
“I think it will help with people that are travelling [on the road],” Roberts said. “There will be more people wanting to travel now that prices are down. Obviously, you are going to see more traffic on the highway.”
Holiday travel, primarily during Thanksgiving, has already seen an increase over a year previous.
According to the American Auto Association (AAA) Thanksgiving travel forecast, 89 percent of Americans travelled by car during the holiday, a 4.3 percent increase from 2013.
The AAA forecasted 46.3 million Thanksgiving travelers this year, a 4.2 percent increase from last season.
Helping that cause has been plummeting gas prices. According to the report, gas prices have helped increase disposable income by 3.1 percent.
Local resident Crystal Bergstrom welcomes the lower prices, especially with an upcoming holiday trip. She believes it “leaves a little more leeway,” for holiday shopping.
“It’s great because I have such a long drive,” Bergstrom said. “It will make it easier on my wallet.”
It’s an asset for local real estate broker Kim Gayer, who said the holidays are often the “busiest time of the year,” which leads to more travel.
Gayer said the lowered prices have cut down on the addtional cost of gas. She also believes it will allow those who may have been on the fence of travelling during the holidays to do so.
“I think some people that wouldn’t have gone to visit relatives outside of the city are thinking there is a bit of a window to afford it,” Gayer said.
Not all believe lower gas prices mean more holiday traffic. One person said that people already make up their minds on travelling for the holidays, regardless of gas prices.
But for Kyle resident Keith Johnson, the downward trend of gas prices is “comfortable” for him, especially with travelling to south Austin for work.
“I like it. I can go more places. It’s not a waste. It’s easier now,” he said. “It makes it a lot easier. I don’t have to put a take of gas per week. I can put half a tank of gas instead.”
According to AAA on Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is $2.66. That price is a significant decrease from a year previous, where the average was $3.26.
In Texas, the average cost of unleaded gas is $2.44. A week ago, a gallon of unleaded was roughly ten cents more expensive. Regular unleaded gas in the Austin-San Marcos metro area cost $2.46 a gallon, a drop from $2.54 just after the Thanksgiving holiday.
