WACO, Texas — Christmas is a time when people spread holiday cheer and spend time with their families. For some, that means traveling by air, land and sea to get there.
"I'm on my way to San Antonio for Christmas to be with my mom, and her boyfriend and my husband and my nephew," Stephanie Key, Dallas resident, said.
It's the time of year for travel and people all over the world are trying to get home just in time for the holidays.
"AAA projects that 2022 will be the third busiest end of year holiday travel period that we've seen on record since AAA began tracking end of year holiday travel in the year 2000," Galen Grillo, AAA Texas Vice President and General Manager, said.
After COVID caused empty roads and airports, more people now feel comfortable traveling by land, air or sea to connect with family.
"Even though there are concerns about inflation and the pandemic that
are holding some people back from traveling this holiday season, nearly 113 million Americans are venturing out to reconnect with loved ones or just recharge their batteries," Grillo said.
Around nine million of those people will be from Texas. One traveler is heading out of town early to beat the rush.
"It's the soonest I could get out. I'm a musician and I just played a Christmas service this morning," Key said. "I got in my car and am on my way for exactly that reason. I was worried. There's always so many people traveling during Christmas and during the holidays to be together."
A majority of those Texans will be hitting the highways.
"Even more people will be driving compared to last year from Texas when it comes to the end of year holiday travel forecast," Grillo said. "Nearly eight million Texans will be traveling by car. And you know falling gas prices are certainly a welcome holiday gift for travelers after the record highs we saw this summer. Fuel prices have been quickly declining in recent weeks and by Christmas, many Texans will likely be paying less for gas than they were last holiday season."
Gas prices have dropped since last summer and many more people are turning to electric cars for their everyday travel needs.
"It's a big proponent of electric energy and so are these people in 22 bays here charging up their cars," Key said. "It's nice to not have that expense. Of course, there's an expense with super chargers but it's nothing compared to how much people spend on gasoline."
With a cold front expected to hit just in time for Christmas, another layer is being added to an already crowded highway.
"It's a little daunting I mean there's a lot of people on the road," Key said. "There's a lot of crazy drivers, a lot of people that don't give themselves enough time."
Everyone wants to be home for Christmas, and 8 million Texas drivers will be making their way.
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