According to AAA, 3.3 million people are expected to travel in Ohio over the holiday weekend, up 5.2% from last year, nearly as many as last year and far more than Memorial Day.
“There are people across the country who aren’t tied to a schedule,” said Carla Hitchens, spokesperson for the AAA Club Alliance. “Here in Ohio, most schools break around Memorial Day. … (But) a lot of communities on the East Coast don’t break at that time, or even through the month of June.”
Additionally, while the weather on Memorial Day may be “a little bit dodgy,” Hitchens said travel conditions around the Fourth of July are usually much better.
This Independence Day week is also expected to set a new record for the number of Americans taking holiday road trips: AAA predicts 60.6 million people will drive to their destinations, up 2.8 million from 57.8 million in 2023 and surpassing the 55.3 million people who traveled by car in 2019.
The vast majority of people — more than 3 million Ohioans — will drive to their destinations, a 5.1 percent increase.
The good news for many Americans is that gasoline prices nationwide this summer are lower than they were a year ago. As of Friday, the national average for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was $3.50, down from $3.56 a year ago, according to AAA. In Ohio, the average price for a gallon of gasoline was $3.57 on Friday, up from $3.36 a year ago due to price fluctuations.
The trend continued in Dayton ($3.25 in 2023 to $3.55 in 2024), Springfield ($3.38 to $3.60) and Cincinnati ($3.40 to $3.62).
Price cycling is when gas stations ignore small fluctuations in the market and lower their prices by 1 to 2 cents each day until they can no longer make a profit, then raise their prices by 25 to 40 cents per gallon.
According to traffic data and analytics provider INRIX, the worst time to travel by car before and on July 4 is between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Motorists should start driving in the morning, and travelers returning on July 8 should avoid morning and afternoon rush hour traffic.
Metropolitan drivers can expect to face the worst traffic congestion when leaving the city on Wednesday and returning on Sunday, said Bob Pichoux, a traffic analyst with INRIX.
“Driving during the holidays could take up to 67 percent longer than usual,” Pichoux said in a statement. “Travelers should check 511 services, local news stations and traffic apps for the latest road conditions.”
Increase in air travel
Air travel is expected to set a new record: AAA predicts that 5.7 million Americans will fly to destinations over the Fourth of July weekend, up about 7% from last year and up 12% from 2019, when the record number of air travelers over the Fourth of July weekend was 3.9 million.
With airfares down slightly from last year, about 121,000 Ohioans plan to fly to their destinations, a 4.1% increase.
Gilbert Turner, director of aviation at Dayton International Airport, said load factors have been increasing recently.
“Overall load factor for May was 89.3 percent, up from the same time last year,” Turner told the news outlet.
To ensure smooth operations and efficient assistance to passengers, the airport will be increasing police personnel and deploying additional baggage handlers and customer service representatives.
“TSA will have sufficient personnel to process passengers through security,” Turner said. “Passengers are strongly encouraged to arrive at Dayton International Airport at least two hours before their flight’s scheduled departure.”
Bus, train and cruise travel continues to grow
Hitchens said he was “surprised and impressed” by the continued increase in “other modes of travel” — buses, trains and cruises — by such a large margin.
AAA expects 4.6 million people to travel by bus, cruise or train this weekend, a 9% increase from last year.
In Ohio, other transportation usage is expected to approach pre-pandemic figures, with 199,716 people expected to ride buses, cruises and trains over the long weekend, a 10.3% increase from last year.
““Cruising was very popular with baby boomers and is becoming increasingly popular with Gen Z,” Hitchens says. “Cruise lines have added a lot of family-friendly cruise ships, so there’s a ship for every age group1719822420and everything on board has something for everyone.”