Americans in record numbers — 46.9 million strong — will celebrate the nation’s 242nd birthday by traveling 50 or more miles from home, up more than 5 percent compared with 2017, according to AAA Travel.
“This Independence Day will be one for the record books, as more Americans take to the nation’s roads, skies, rails and waterways than ever before,” said Beth Mosher, director of public affairs for AAA.
“Confident consumers with additional disposable income will look to spend on travel this holiday, building on an already busy summer travel season,” Mosher said.
In addition to a strong economy, the fact that Independence Day falls on a Wednesday this year gives travelers more flexibility to schedule a trip the weekend before or after the holiday, she noted. The official Independence Day holiday period runs from July 3 to 8.
But, for the 39.7 million Americans planning a road trip, beware of July 3, dubbed “terrible Tuesday,” says INRIX, the global transportation analytics company that partners with AAA Travel. INRIX predicts drivers will experience the worst congestion in major metropolitan areas including Chicago during the late afternoon Tuesday — as commuters leave work early and mix with holiday travelers.
“Although travel times are expected to nominally increase throughout the week, Tuesday afternoon will hands down be the worst time to be on the road,” said Scott Sedlik, INRIX general manager and vice president public sector. “Our advice to drivers is to avoid peak commuting hours altogether or consider alternative routes.”
In Illinois, 2.5 million people will be traveling for the holiday weekend, a 5.2 percent increase from 2017. Of those travelers, 2.2 million will drive and 114,000 will fly to their destination.
This Independence Day 1.1 million Hoosiers are expected to travel, an increase of 5.2 percent. Of those, 979,000 are expected to travel by auto and about 50,000 by air.
Gas prices continue to change
Gas prices continue to fluctuate with the average price nationally for gas at $2.84 per gallon.
Across Illinois gas prices average $2.94 per gallon, down from $3.04 last month and up significantly from $2.32 a year ago. In Cook County, that price is $3.20 per gallon.
Currently, gas prices in Indiana are on average $2.84 per gallon, down from $2.96 a month ago and up from $2.09 this time last year.
However, on July 1, the Indiana gasoline tax goes up 1 cent per gallon, to 29 cents per gallon. That’s 10 cents more per gallon than was charged as recently as June 30, 2017, according to the Indiana Department of Revenue.
This represents the beginning of annual tax gas hikes for the infrastructure funding package approved last year by the Republican-controlled General Assembly and by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb. It aims to raise more than $1 billion annually to construct and maintain state and local roads and bridges.
And while airfares are expected to be cheaper this Independence Day, travelers will pay more for car rentals and hotels, according to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index.
Airfares are averaging $171 for a round-trip flight on the top 40 domestic routes, the lowest Independence Day airfare in five years and 9 percent less than last year. That’s good news for the record-breaking 3.8 million people who will travel by air, up 7.9 percent from last year and the ninth year of consecutive air travel volume increases.
Renting a vehicle and staying at mid-range hotels this Independence Day will cost more, however. The average daily cost of $66 for a car rental is up 2 percent from last year. The average nightly rate at AAA Two Diamond hotels is $147, an increase of 11 percent over last year, while AAA Three Diamond hotels will average $187 per night, up 2 percent from 2017.