Millions of Texans are expected to hit the road during the long Fourth of July weekend, paying record-high fuel prices.
Millions of Texans are expected to hit the road during the long Fourth of July weekend, although record-high fuel prices may lead them to cut back on other travel expenses, experts say.Leaders at Buc-ee’s, the gas station chain headquartered in Lake Jackson, share that sense.
Average gasoline prices soared to record levels this spring, hitting more than $4 a gallon in San Antonio for the first time in history, but have softened in recent weeks. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in San Antonio was $4.46 on Thursday, down 2.5 percent from a week ago, according to AAA Texas. Still, prices are up 6 percent in San Antonio from a month ago and are 64 percent higher than this time last year. Gasing up Thursday afternoon, Brian Buchanan said pricey gasoline isn’t changing his July 4th plans. His daughter Zoe still made the six-hour drove down from Durant, Okla., to spend the weekend with her dad in San Antonio as usual— it just cost more. “Each time she comes down, I used to give $100 for gas to and from,” Buchanan said as he filled his own tank at a station on Austin Highway. “Now, I give her $200 for her trip.”In May, gas-price tracking website GasBuddy released its annual summer travel survey. Seventy percent of respondents said high gas prices have affected their travel plans this summer. Last year, just 24 percent said the same. But 58 percent were nonetheless planning road trips as the summer began, and a third said they were planning to travel during the Fourth of July weekend specifically. “The high prices don’t seem to be holding many Americans back from hitting the road with the economy fully reopened,” said Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis., which it defines as traveling at least 50 miles from home. That’s up 3 percent from last year’s Independence Day weekend and within 1 percent of the same period in 2019. Most of those travelers — about 3.1 million — are expected to drive, which would be a record for the state. Meanwhile, AAA expects fewer Texans to travel by air this weekend compared with the same time in 2019. This isn’t surprising, says Joshua Zuber, senior public affairs specialist for AAA Texas, given the nation’s pent-up demand to travel and the airline industry’s woes such as soaring airfares and thousands of canceled flights amid a pilot shortage. “When we see higher gas prices, typically that doesn’t deter people from traveling,” Zuber added. “Rather, if they’re concerned about the higher gas prices, folks tend to modify their trips — meaning they’ll choose less expensive accommodations, focus on staying with family and friends, or modify their activities.” To provide some relief to drivers, the Biden Administration has asked both Congress and the states to pass measures that would suspend taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel for the duration of the three-month summer travel season from July through September. An Express-News analysis found such a move would save drivers an average of $24.50 per month, but would cost the state government as much as $682 million in lost tax revenue. The federal tax revenue loss would approach $10 billion.On ExpressNews.com:Some San Antonians, though, are tweaking their plans. One, who declined to give his name as he dispensed gas off of Loop 410, said he may travel over the weekend but he’ll avoid eating at restaurants. High prices for things such as gasoline to food have been squeezing his fixed income, he said.Tom Faust, a spokesman for Margaritaville Lake Resort in Conroe, said he considers the Fourth of July “the Super Bowl of the leisure season” and expects this year will be no different. “We still do have rooms available for the weekend, but we anticipate by Saturday that we will be full,” Faust said, adding that 75 to 85 percent of the resort’s leisure travelers are from the Houston area. Before taking off for the weekend, AAA urges drivers to check their vehicles’ battery, engine and tires. The auto club expects to respond to 21,000 roadside assistance calls in Texas over the weekend.
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