Memorial Day travel tips with Auto Club's Doug Shupe

Memorial Day is coming up. Embrace yourself because it's going to be a busy one on the roads and in the air. Kalina, you have more on what we can expect. Yeah, I feel like busy is an understatement here because AAA projects. 3.3 million people will travel 50 miles or more during Memorial Day weekend. That's more than 7% higher than last year.

So could this be a sign of what's to come? You know who will know this? Doug Schu. From the Auto Club, he's here with more. Thank you so much for joining me. Good morning. Thanks for having me in. Good morning. It's good to see you.

I'm like the last time I talked to you is when I worked in San Diego. Right. Yeah. Talking about travel again. So we want to talk about the travel volume. How is it going to compare to what we saw last year with more people on the roadway? Obviously, this is going to be a really exciting time. That overall travel volume of 3.

3 million Southern Californians traveling is going to be nearly 8% higher than what we saw last year. And about a half a percent higher, almost a half a percent higher than what we saw in 2019 before the pandemic began. Even though the vast majority will be traveling by automobile, we're going to see the biggest increases when it comes to air travel, cruises, buses and trains. So those other modes of transportation will actually see the biggest increases compared to last year. I feel like this is just a sign of the times, right? People are excited. They want to get out. They want to explore.

I know for us here in Southern California, a lot of people head to Vegas. That's one of the destinations. So we want to know where are people traveling? I'm assuming Vegas is one of the spots for a more daily. It is according to a survey of our Auto Club travel advisors. Vegas is the top destination for Southern California residents, followed by San Diego, Santa Barbara, Grand Canyon and Palm Springs. Nationwide people are going to be going to New York City, to Orlando and Anaheim because of the Disney parks. Of course.

Yeah, but it's really exciting time because international travel bookings this memorial. Day for international hotspots up 250% compared to last year. Europe is leading the way. I mean, Barcelona, London, Paris. Those are the city's Athens that are that are seeing the most visitors this memorial day. So when we talk about the travel weekend, we're talking about a bigger travel period than just Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Right.

It's a five day period from Thursday, May 25th through Monday, May 29th. Okay. And let's talk about the best and worst times to hit the road. I always feel like I like to tell people, hey, don't take the 10 or if you do to head to Palm Springs, make sure you leave early. Same thing with the five to San Francisco. Same thing with the 15 to Las Vegas. So what are the best times to actually hit the road? Great question.

And you're right on target there. We partner with a transportation data and insights company called Enricks. And they are projecting that the busiest day on the freeways will be the Friday leading into the Memorial Day holiday. Okay. Not too much of a surprise. People will leave work early and then they'll hit the road. So what you want to do is, as you said, leave as early in the day as you possibly can or wait until after 6 p.

m. after that evening commute time ends. Here in Southern California, Enricks is projecting the peak congestion will actually be on Sunday afternoon on the five between Los Angeles and San Diego. That's when the commute is expected to take roughly three hours and 24 minutes. Oh my gosh. 47% increase from normal travel times. I feel like any time you head to San Diego, there's always traffic unless it's before 9 o'clock in the morning.

Right. Exactly. That's my secret. This little tip for you guys. Let's talk about gas prices. So how will this compare to what we've seen last year? The good news is gas prices are lower. Right now, the average is 484 in the Los Angeles area.

So that is 11 cents lower than what we saw a month ago. It's $1.17 lower per gallon than what we saw a year ago at this time. So, you know, you're going to be paying less for gasoline when you head out to your Memorial Day road trips this year. All right. And last but not least, I know a lot of people get anxious when they're driving. So you have any tips for people while they get stuck in traffic or hopefully avoid traffic since you gave us some wonderful tips.

Yeah. Give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination so that you're not in a rush. Make sure that you are focused only on that road ahead. Don't drive intoxicated. Don't drive intoxicated. Those smartphones could be just as dangerous as getting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol. Obey the speed limit.

You know, buckle up. And then also if you're taking these folks to the airport or picking or taking them to the airport, you want to get there early at least two hours before domestic flights, at least three hours before international flights. Great tips. Thank you so much. Doug Schup here from AAA. Really appreciate it. Nice to see you.

You're the best. Come back anytime. And you can find more information about the Auto Club and also holiday travel tips by going to K-Cal News dot com and click on scene on TV.

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