BOSTON — AAA says this year could be one of the busiest Thanksgiving travel seasons since 2000.
That means thousands of Americans will be filling up their gas tanks, and they should be prepared to pay the highest average price per gallon, GasBuddy says.
GasBuddy analyzed 1,314 responses to its 2022 Thanksgiving Travel Survey from Nov. 5 to Nov. 9.
The national average price for a gallon of gas is projected to be $3.68 on Thanksgiving Day. That's nearly 30¢ higher than last year.
The previous record was set in 2012 at $3.44 a gallon on Thanksgiving Day.
“It has been a dizzying year at the pump, with motorists likely feeling nauseous not from the eggnog, but from the roller coaster ride at the pump with record gasoline prices earlier this year, which have fallen significantly since mid-summer,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
“Americans, however, are proving that while we’ll openly complain about high gas prices, most of us aren’t deterred from taking to the highways to observe Thanksgiving with those that matter most to us, especially as precautions from the pandemic have eased.”
Here are some tips GasBuddy says will help save you cash on the road this holiday season:
- Shop around for the best prices. The first gas station you see isn’t always the cheapest and driving a few extra blocks can save drivers upwards of 30 cents per gallon.
- Slow down on the road. Aggressive driving habits like speeding, rapid acceleration and hard braking can cost drivers hundreds of extra dollars per year in additional fuel consumption.
- Watch out for state lines. Differences in taxes can cause big differences between states.
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