COLUMBUS – The cheapest gasoline in over a decade is fueling a potentially record-setting holiday weekend on the roadways and in the nation’s airports.
Nearly 1.8 million Ohioans are expected to be among the 43 million Americans who plan to travel at least 50 miles from home over the Independence Day holiday weekend Thursday through Monday, according to the auto club AAA.
That would be the highest Fourth of July travel volume on record, an increase of 1.3 percent nationally and 2.3 percent in Ohio from last year, AAA Ohio spokeswoman Kim Schwind said.
She says lower gas prices, higher consumer confidence and rising economic activity are offsetting a recent cooling of the labor market.
Most of the estimated 1.6 million Ohioans who will drive to their destinations will pay the lowest Independence Day gas prices since 2005.
While Ohio gas prices spiked during June to some of the highest in the country, the spike was relatively short-lived and drivers are now experiencing a bit of relief at the pump.
Last year Ohio’s Fourth of July gas prices averaged $2.72 a gallon. In 2014, Ohio motorists were paying an average of $3.59 a gallon (see graph).
The average price of gasoline in Columbus Tuesday morning was $2.28 per gallon, according to a daily survey from the auto club, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX, Inc., 21 cents cheaper than the week before and 58 cents lower than in 2015.
The nation’s airlines will enjoy a seventh straight year of growth, with more than 3.3 million Americans – including nearly 79,000 Ohioans – taking to the air, paying an average airfare of $207 for the top 40 domestic flight routes, 9 percent less than a year ago, Schwind says.