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Labor Day Travel Expected To Rise; Gas Prices Lower

Candidate Jack Davis pumps $1.50 gas in Greece.
WXXI photo
Candidate Jack Davis pumps $1.50 gas in Greece.

If you're traveling for the upcoming Labor Day weekend expect plenty of company. That according to the AAA, which is projecting nearly 35 million Americans will be traveling 50 miles or more during the holiday weekend, the highest volume for the period since 2008. The auto club is expecting a 1.3 increase in travel from Labor Day 2013.

Local AAA spokesman Steve Pacer says ever says the recession ended several years ago, travel has generally been increasing during the major holidays.

"In 2008-2009 you saw the effects hitting so many people, that they stopped traveling, and for the past couple of years, it wasn't all major holidays that were up, a significant majority of them were, so , people who have the travel bug are traveling."

Pacer says another factor is that gas prices have been edging down. Right now in the Rochester area, gas is averaging $3.65  a gallon, down 14 cents from this time last year.

About 86 percent of Labor Day travelers nationwide are expected to be making their trips on the highways.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.