Nevadans to hit the road for the holidays

David Kihara

Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2004 | 10:49 a.m.

Nevadans are expected to take to the roads during this holiday season in record numbers, with motorists taking advantage of both low gasoline prices and back-to-back holiday weekends.

About 510,000 Nevadans could travel more than 50 miles from home during the Christmas and New Year's weekends, with 430,000 of them expected to travel by automobile, according to AAA Nevada.

The remaining 80,000 are predicted to fly and 1 percent will take either trains or buses, AAA Nevada said Monday.

"Nevadans would have traveled regardless of the low gas prices," said Michael Geeser, spokesman for AAA Nevada, on Monday. "In every major holiday season in 2004, the number of travelers increased even though there were record high gas prices."

But the low statewide gas prices, while not the main reason for the busy holiday traveling, contributes to an increase, Geeser said.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in Las Vegas was about $1.95 as of Monday, Geeser said. Throughout most of the state, the average price for one gallon of regular gasoline is $1.98, AAA Nevada stated.

The counties of Carson City, Sparks and Elko are each averaging about $1.94, according to AAA Nevada.

The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded is $1.82.

In mid-November, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Nevada was about $2.16, according to the AAA Nevada.

Although Geeser couldn't say where most Nevadans will be traveling to this holiday season, he said that Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego and the Grand Canyon have traditionally been major destinations for Southern Nevadan motorists.

John Shaw, 37, is one of those southern Nevadans with travel plans during the holiday.

Shaw, originally, from Charlotte, N.C., said on Monday that he is flying to Phoenix this weekend to visit his girlfriend who resides there.

Speaking at an Ultimate Electronics store while doing some last-minute holiday shopping, Shaw said he will take advantage of the long Christmas weekend coming up to visit Phoenix for five days, starting on Wednesday.

He said low gas prices had nothing to do with his decision, adding that, "It was something I was going to do no matter what."

Nationally, AAA predicts that 62.7 million Americans will travel this holiday season, a 3 percent increase from the same time last year, Geeser said.

"All around travel is expected to be high, and records are going to be set," he said.

Geeser attributes the nationwide increase on Christmas Day and New Year's Day to both falling on Saturdays, allowing people to often take three-day weekends. An improving economy and increased sense of safety are also factors, he said.

"The further we get from (9/11) without major incident, the more secure people feel, and the comfortable people feel traveling," he said.

Jennifer Downing is one of the valley residents who won't be joining the hundreds of thousands of holiday travelers this season.

Her job as a bus driver for the Citizen's Area Transit bus system prevents her from taking time off, Downing said on Monday.

"We're really short of bus drivers, and we are forced to work the holiday," she said, adding that she will work a 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift on Christmas.

Downing said she would be visiting her family in California if she didn't have to work, but she wasn't too upset about her work schedule.

"It comes with being an adult," she said.