holiday travel
Numbers this year likely will set records
According to AAA, 115.6 million people will travel from Dec. 21 through Jan. 1, the highest number in the nearly 20 years since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000.
The lion’s share — about 104 million — are expected to drive to their destination.
While the holidays are spread over 11 days, INRIX, a global transportation analytics company, said it anticipates delays to be the worst on Dec. 26, with travel times in the Chicago area expected to be as much as 1.3 times longer than normal during the evening rush hour.
“Travelers should be getting used to crowded highways and airports, as this marks the eighth straight year of new record-high travel volumes for the year-end holidays,” said Paula Twidale, vice president, AAA Travel.
Master Trooper Glen Fifield, spokesman for the Indiana State Police Lowell District, said he already started to see an increase in traffic on Interstate 65 while on patrol on Friday.
“The good thing about the holiday being in the middle of the week this year is that it spreads out when people are going to their destinations. The 26th will be the bad day. Everyone will be leaving for home on the same day,” he said.
On the positive side, Fifield said the region isn’t expecting any bad weather until the end of the year and road construction has been completed for the most part in the state. Also, AAA said gas prices are expected to drop just before the holidays.
To help ensure the safety of the motorists traveling state highways, the Indiana State Police will again be participating in Operation C.A.R.E., Combined Accident Reduction Effort, from Dec. 22 through Jan. 2. The federally funded programs allows additional troopers to patrol Indiana roadways checking for disabled vehicles, accidents and aggressive or impaired drivers, Fifield said.
He said locally, troopers will have extra patrols on Interstates 65 and 94, the toll road and U.S. 30.
AAA said it expects another 6.97 million to fly to their destination, the most since 2003.
Most of these travelers will probably depart two to four days prior to the Christmas holiday, with Dec. 22 being the single busiest air travel days of the holiday week.Ticket prices on these days average between $593 and $639, according to AAA.
Christmas Eve is the best day to travel, with the lowest average ticket price ($527) and the fewest crowds at the airports, AAA said.
Those traveling out of Chicago’s airports are advised to arrive at the airport two hours early for domestic flights and three hours early for international travel.
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