While gas prices remain higher than they were a year ago — still about a dollar more than this month in 2010 — industry experts predict that they will continue to decrease over the next few months.
According to the latest report released from the Energy Information Administration (), summer gas prices peaked in June.
That’s good news for summer travelers such as Denver’s Ebert family, who were fueling up a rental RV on their way to Durango, where they planned to join another family before heading an extended journey through Arizona.
“We almost canceled this trip,” said Mark Ebert, who was traveling with his wife, Kristina, and their two children, Kamille, 8, and Kurtis, 6. “We went around and around about whether it made sense to do this or fly somewhere to hang out with some family friends. But we thought it would be a good trip for the kids.”
We’ll see whether fewer people will drive this holiday weekend, but preliminary research indicates that many — according to a May survey by Burst Media, 52 percent of travelers indicated that gas prices would impact their summer travel plans — have already cut back.
“I can tell you that the trends that we’re seeing based on the research that we’re doing for the Fourth of July holiday is that it all depends on your household income,” Cindy Brough, director of public relations at AAA National. “We’re noticing that for household incomes under $50,000, we’re seeing decreases in the number of people who are driving and traveling, and we’re seeing, conversely, increases in the number of travelers in the $100,000- and-up income range.”
Brough says that the message AAA gets from this is that gas takes a larger chunk out of the household budget for lower-income earners. “They’re suffering disproportionately,” she says.
The smartest thing drivers can do, Brough says, is to plan routes well and stick to them.
“The more homework people do in mapping their routes, the less likely they are to get lost,” Brough says. “Staying on course, of course, is more fuel efficient than getting lost.”
To make spending the gas money worthwhile, it helps to pick a good route, and it almost goes without saying that this country has more than its fair share. To celebrate the Land of the Free, here are six classic road trips that celebrate our abundance of geographical and cultural diversity:
Kyle Wagner: 303-954-1599, travel@denverpost.com, , .
William Porter contributed to this report.
Need help planning your route?
Visit , which will direct you to the best site for the trip you’re planning. The online TripTik Travel Planner plots your trip from one location to the next, with the added advantage of alerts regarding road advisories, including conditions and construction.
AAA also offers three smart-phone apps (iPhone and Android), one of which, aaaTripTik mobile, is available for nonmembers. It allows you to get the gasoline prices for your destination updated daily.
Another helpful website: . Simple and easy to use, the site allows you to plug in two locations and the make and model of your vehicle, and it then “galculates” the cost based on an average gas price (which it lists). It also gives your carbon footprint, an estimated drive time and the mileage to a few good stopping points along the way, with a Google map showing the route they’re using.
