Although gasoline prices have been falling in Maryland in recent weeks, they still are far from a bargain this Thanksgiving holiday.
The average cost of a gallon of gas statewide Monday was $3.49, according to GasBuddy.com. That is 13 cents lower than Cumberland’s pump costs of $3.62 per gallon.
In fact, 2012 Thanksgiving gas prices are much higher than recent Thanksgiving holidays. Last year the national average for the holiday was $3.32 per gallon, but the national average for Thanksgiving from 2007-2011 was $2.75 per gallon.
Gasoline prices in Maryland this year seem to be at their highest in Allegany County. GasBuddy lists Hagerstown at $3.52 per gallon; Catonsville, $3.24; Waldorf, $3.21; Easton, $3.34 and Ocean City, $3.49.
Because many people are off the Friday after Thanksgiving, travelers have an opportunity to spend more time with family and friends. AAA said approximately 90 percent of travelers or 39.1 million people plan to travel by automobile this Thanksgiving.
This is a 0.6 percent increase over the 38.9 million people who traveled by auto last year. Air travel is expected to decrease 1.7 percent as 3.14 million holiday travelers will take to the skies.
According to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index, Thanksgiving holiday hotel rates for AAA Three Diamond lodgings are expected to decrease one percent from a year ago, with travelers spending an average of $143 per night compared to $145 last year.
Travelers planning to stay at AAA Two Diamond hotels can expect to pay one percent more, at an average cost of $104 per night. Weekend daily car rental rates will average $47, compared to $37 last year.
The high gasoline prices appear to be here to stay — at least for the foreseeable future. Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, said: “I don’t really see how gas prices could greatly improve between now and Christmas, given the new military action in the Middle East and other pressures. It’s all but certain the national average will not drop under $3.25 per gallon, which could lead to a perilous start to 2013,”
Continued high prices will be enough for some people to stay home — and enough to be an economic problem the U.S. consumer can ill afford.
Editorials
Related Photos
-
Still high
Still high
Gas prices far surpass those from years past
- Editorials
-
-
150th birthday
West Virginians will be in a celebratory mood Thursday when the state’s sesquicentennial is marked in scores of events across the Mountain State.
-
Freedom isn’t exactly what he thinks it is
In the June 2 Times-News, R. Steele Selby (“Just how free are we?) defines freedom as “the capacity to do whatever he or she wants to do” and asserts that this definition is “most likely nearly universal.”
-
What Maryland calls the Fair Share Act isn’t fair at all
The Fair Share Act was passed in 2009. This law allowed for service fees to be part of the collective bargaining process.
The law does not mandate that service fees be negotiated, it simply provides that they can be. -
It’s not new
America’s governments have always afforded us what’s called “a double-edged sword” — one that cuts both ways — when it comes to the contrasting ideas of openness and security.
-
This summer:
You can do your kids a favor this summer by getting them involved in reading.
-
Western Md. Veterans continues its mission
My name is Dan Brashear, I am the founder and director of Western Maryland Veterans.
-
Maybe the cyclists and casino workers should be armed
Again, unfortunately I have to remind Don Carns Jr. of Beans Cove, Pa., on his latest repeatedly inaccurate letter published June 10 in the Cumberland Times-News (“Township is nothing like either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia”).
-
Let’s all kick in $1 to help save Frostburg’s Palace Theatre
As a former resident, I have many fond memories of the Palace Theatre (“Theater wall crumbles: Palace exterior collapses, unfit for entry: officials,” June 6 Times-News, Page 1A).
-
Close call
Thanks to a routine inspection, what could well have been a major disaster has been averted at Westmar Middle School’s football field.
-
Develop the waterway
Since the debate over removing the dam started about four years ago, I have been concerned about the effect the dam removal would have on the area’s welfare.
- More Editorials Headlines
-
