State residents raise concerns with gas prices during holiday travel
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Memorial Day weekend is the first big travel period of the Summer, but this year prices at the pump have put the brakes on some people’s plans.
Gas prices across the state are edging up to $4 a gallon.
Hitting the roads for Memorial Day is hitting area drivers in their wallets.
According to Triple A, the national average for regular gas is $4.51 a gallon.
Holly Stephens said the higher gas prices are concerning to her because those increases fuel rises in other costs.
“When I leave work, I notice the price going up nearby, and I work in Starkville,” Stephens said. “I just really feel for everybody, especially with the young parents raising children, or maybe those who are starting, and the gas prices are so high. It’s just like, it is just going to make the groceries go up higher.”
This time last year, the national price for regular gas was $2.66.
Triple A also reports this Memorial Day is the busiest on record, with millions of Americans traveling at least 50 miles from home.
“We are over $4 a gallon after Louisiana, and it is pretty much even that way through most of the Gulf South, from Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, but when you get to Florida, you are talking about close to $4.50 a gallon,” Don Redman said.
“I’m glad that I have a fuel-efficient car that the people who are on the farm like the larger diesel trucks; I really feel for them,” Stephens said.
Don Redman said the higher fuel prices could be here for a while – and that could affect travelers during future holidays.
“When they sustain at $4 a gallon and above for the remainder of the summer, it stands a great chance of impacting our fall vacations, particularly Thanksgiving. and even into Christmas and New Year’s vacations, because it definitely takes an impact on the family budget,” Redman said.
If you are still looking for ways to save at the pump, Triple A says avoid gas stations near the interstate where prices tend to be higher.
There were a projected 39.1 million people traveling by car over the Memorial Day weekend, Triple A reports that’s a slight jump over last year.
