March 29, 2024

as price average projected to hit $1.99

Americans hitting the road for Thanksgiving will certainly have something to be extra thankful for – the cheapest gasoline prices since March 2009.

The low prices are showing up just in time for millions of motorists who are heading out and saving them $1.5 billion over the five days that GasBuddy’s recent survey found most motorists will be traveling.

GasBuddy projects that by Thanksgiving Day the national average will be $1.99 per gallon, nearly 80 cents per gallon cheaper than last year and $1.29 per gallon cheaper than 2013. As prices at the pump have plunged, the number of states seeing average prices under $2 per gallon has more than tripled in the last two weeks, rising to 19 states, with nearly 60 percent of all U.S. gas stations now selling below $2 per gallon. Lower gas prices could be a reason why more people will be spending more time on the road this holiday weekend. According to GasBuddy’s 2015 Thanksgiving travel survey, 25 percent of more than 100,000 travelers surveyed nationwide say their travel will begin on Thanksgiving Day; while nearly 30 percent say travel begins the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and another 23 percent say they’ll hit the road two to three days ahead.

That’s an 11 percent decrease in the number of people who say they’re heading out on Thanksgiving Day. In 2014, 36 percent said they’d travel on Thanksgiving Day; 30 percent said they’d travel the day before; and only 18 percent said they’d hit the road two to three days earlier.

“With gas prices plunging under $2 just in time for Thanksgiving Day, it’s a perfect reminder – some folks automatically expect gas prices to rise in advance of a major travel holiday,” said Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy. “That’s become a popular misconception, and this holiday exemplifies the point. November gas prices have slid significantly lower and holiday travelers will certainly be the beneficiaries.