Although gas prices have been falling all summer, California Labor Day commuters are expected to pay the highest price on record for the holiday weekend.
And while gas prices drop, a severe heat wave is expected to linger in Southern California, forcing some weekend vacationers to alter their travel plans.
The median price of a gallon of gasoline in California and Los Angeles was $5.25 on Thursday, down 5 cents from a week earlier, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California. The previous record for the start of the Labor Day weekend came last year at $4.39 a gallon in California and $4.40 in Los Angeles.
The US average was nearly $3.83 a gallon on Thursday, down about five cents from the past week, mostly due to lower oil prices.
Gasoline prices began to rise in the spring of 2020, with the largest increases starting in January 2021, aggravated by the pandemic and the destabilizing influence of the Russian war in Ukraine on the energy market. Before prices began to drop in early summer, regular gasoline at some California gas stations was more than $7 a gallon.
Nationwide, about 32% of Americans plan to travel over Labor Day weekend, with 82% driving and 12% traveling at least 50 miles, according to the Auto Club. About 456,000 passengers are expected to depart Los Angeles International Airport between Thursday and Monday, which is about 56,000 more travelers than last year, according to Los Angeles World Airports.
Domestic airfares for the holiday weekend will average $278 round-trip, up 23% from 2021 and 20% more than 2019, according to Hopper, the online travel site.
High prices and sweltering temperatures are expected to influence travel plans for the last holiday of the summer.
Since COVID-19 cases began to decline last year, travel demand has skyrocketed, giving rise to the term “revenge travel,” a desire to travel to make up for lost vacations during the pandemic. However, demand for gasoline for Independence Day across the country is down compared to the same weekend in 2021, according to GasBuddy, the fuel comparison site, suggesting that higher prices are diverting some vacationers from summer road trips.
“Gasoline prices spiked ahead of the summer, causing many Americans to rethink their summer travel plans,” Patrick DeHaan, head of oil research at GasBuddy, said in a statement.
An August survey by the Auto Club confirmed the effects of high gas prices on summer travel plans. The online survey found that 66% of Americans surveyed said they traveled less this summer than they normally would, with 80% saying they cut back on shopping, driving and going to the movies, among other activities, to save money. money.
The most popular destinations for Southern California travelers for Labor Day weekend are Las Vegas, San Diego, Orlando and Alaska, according to the Auto Club. Since many vacations are booked weeks or months in advance, Auto Club spokesman Doug Shupe said the heat wave likely won’t cause travelers to change their destinations, but it will likely disrupt their activities.
“You can bet there’s going to be a lot of poolside activity,” he said.
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