Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Gas prices are leveling off nicely but are still not what people want to buy to pay for a gallon of gas, according to AAA consumer research.
Elizabeth Carey of Central and Western New York AAA talked with with WBEN Tuesday morning about the lowering average of gas prices per gallon.
"Right now, the U.S. average is $3.84 [a gallon]. But in Buffalo, we're at $4.17. If you think about it, it's still more than it was a year ago, the U.S. average was $3.15 a year ago. It's still too much according to AAA consumer research, [for] what people want to pay. They have come down in price. Luckily, we're not at $5 a gallon anymore and they should continue to come down as long as these oil prices stay down."
Oil prices are down, "Russia invaded Ukraine and oil prices shot up, so that was a direct reaction, gas prices going up following those oil prices. What we're seeing now is oil prices coming down this morning, they're like $94 to $100 a barrel, they were up over $125 a barrel. Prices have definitely come down. That's the correlation we're seeing with the lower pump prices," says Carey.
Carey also notes that these gas prices have some contingency, "We're still seeing some strong summer travel through Labor Day and then we'll see prices come down a little bit. It just depends on what the situation is with school buses and traffic and are people going back to work? Or are they still going to work from home? What is that demand level? It's hard to predict exactly what the price will be."
Speaking of Labor Day, travel during the Labor Day weekend is supposed to increase by 20% this year compared to last, according to AAA. Carey says people are changing their driving habits, some have been staying home to work and prioritizing vacation travel, especially coming out of the pandemic.
There has some debate between air travel or biting the gas price bullet on road trips, some people are choosing to travel across the country instead of worrying about potential delays in the airport.
"You don't know what you're gonna get with the airports these days. If there's a weather incident in the city, that can cause a ripple effect through the airline industry and sometimes it's smooth sailing. Sometimes you're gonna run into these problems. So it is a gamble. If you are taking something like a cruise or going for a Bills game or a wedding, where you have to be somewhere at a certain time, go a couple of days in advance. Just to make sure you can get to your destination and be there for your event," said Carey.
"There's a lot of people that got through [the airport] without a problem, We're still seeing the strong TSA numbers. It was 2 million plus travelers a day up until just recently, when they dropped down a little bit when the summer travel started to taper off a little bit. So a lot of people are still traveling. Some of the airlines have cut their schedules just to make sure that they have the staffing to cover the flights they're offering."
If you're looking to travel for the Bills game home opener in Los Angeles, you may not have trouble finding a hotel, but you're paying a Los Angeles price and flights are being scooped up rather quickly as that game is approaching, but if you're looking to go to an away game and not break the bank, AAA is offering a day trip.
"We have a trip through AAA that goes to Meadowlands in November for that game against the Jets and that's the round trip motorcoach. It's $319. You're going there and back. You don't even need a hotel. It's less than a 24-hour trip and you can cheer on the team and include your ticket and lunch and everything else," says Carey.