MD Drivers Pay $1 More For Gas Than Last Memorial Day: AAA

MARYLAND — Since Monday, gasoline prices in Maryland have stayed within a penny, which is good news for the hordes of Maryland residents itching to get out on the road.

AAA Mid-Atlantic predicts about 800,000 Marylanders will travel for Memorial Day weekend, a 53 percent increase from last year. For the DC region, Maryland and Virginia as a whole, 2.78 million people will travel 50 miles or more.

After short supplies earlier this month caused by the Colonial gas pipeline shutdown, drivers should have little problem finding gasoline, AAA analysts said, but they will pay about $1 more than they did during the holiday last year.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration, gas demand increased last week, which will likely contribute to fluctuations in pump prices through the holiday weekend, particularly as 94 percent of holiday travelers will do so by car, a AAA news release said.

“It heralds the start of ‘what is expected to be a busy summer driving season.’ Look no farther than our national big backyard. In total, 2.78 million persons residing in the Washington metro area, Maryland and Virginia will venture more than 50 miles from home during the Memorial Day travel period,” said John B. Townsend 2nd, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s manager of public and government affairs, in a news release. “A sum of 2.58 million residents will travel by automobile to their holiday destinations.”

Friday’s national gas price average is $3.04, unchanged from one week ago, up respectively 16 cents from one month ago and $1.08 from one year ago.

The gas price average in Maryland Friday is $3.02, down 2 cents from last week, up respectively 21 cents in the last month, and $1 from this date last year.

Maryland’s statewide average hit $3.01 on May 13 and has remained above $3 since that date, although the statewide average has been slowly decreasing since May 18. Most areas in Maryland are averaging under $3 this week.

But 2021 Brood X Cicadas, notwithstanding, the real “sound of summer” is the return of the summer road trip with fully vaccinated Americans emerging from their long dormancy and heading to weekend getaways and vacation hideaways.

AAA expects a significant rebound in travel this summer. The Memorial Day holiday weekend is a precursor of things to come, especially in when it comes to summer road trips and skylarking all summer long. More than 37 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home this Memorial Day. This comprises an increase of 60 percent from last year when only 23 million traveled, the lowest on record since AAA began recording in 2000.

The Holiday Weekend

“More than 806,600 Marylanders are expected to be traveling for the Memorial Day holiday, a jump of about 60 percent over last year,” said Jeanette Tejeda de Gomez at AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Gas prices locally and nationally are expected to fluctuate through the weekend as 94% of those traveling this holiday weekend nationally will be doing so by car, which could drive up gas demand.”

Most states have followed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control’s lifting indoor mask mandates for vaccinated people, the OPIS Retail Fuel Watch said. Those recommendations are expected to encourage residents who might have been on the fence about a vacation trip to get behind the wheel.

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