It promises to be a busy travel weekend -- with volumes expected to reach a post-recession high.
The AAA predicts 36.1-million Americans will travel 50 miles or more during the holiday, an increase of 1.5 percent over last year.
Spokesperson Diana Dibble says most will go by car, and the national average for a gallon of gas is about the same as a year ago. But it is higher in Rochester and western New York.
“It's up about 11 cents compared to a year ago, however we have come down two cents in the past week, so while it is higher than it was a year ago, we're moving in the right direction.”
The average price around Rochester is $3.82 a gallon heading into the long weekend.
Dibble says the AAA is hopeful gas prices will remain stable this summer, but supply and demand and the global price of crude oil will determine whether prices rise.
Over, the AAA expects 88 percent of Americans will be doing their traveling on the roads, and Dibble says many New Yorkers will be staying closer to home.
“We're seeing a lot of activity within New York State, people taking advantage of all we have to offer here with parks and camping and hiking, and people that are heading out a little further still tending to stay on the east coast, cities such as Boston, Washington and New York are also very popular.”
In terms of general travel costs nationwide, the AAA says that travelers will encounter slightly higher prices with airfares six percent higher, mid-range hotels up two percent and car rentals costing one percent more.
