COLUMBIA, S.C. — Labor Day is almost upon us, meaning thousands of travelers will take to the air and roads this weekend to enjoy one last chance to soak up the summer sun.
Tiffany Wright with AAA said that after a record-breaking summer travel season, she expects the roads to be busy this weekend.
“I expect that Labor Day is going to be really, really busy,” Wright said. "It really is for most that last getaway for the summer, especially if you have that three-day weekend option. I would say the majority of those, especially in the Carolinas, are going to be doing so regionally."
The threat of travel delays at the airport didn’t deter University of South Carolina student Juli Sklenka, who said nothing could be as bad as what happened to her a few weeks ago.
"Nothing worse than the travel issue that happened just a few weeks ago. I actually got stuck in JFK during the CrowdStrike outage, so couldn’t be worse than that,” Sklenka said.
AAA's Wright said you can always rent a vehicle if you are sticking to the roads this weekend and don’t want to put wear and tear on your own car.
"It’s not a bad idea, but I would say if you haven’t booked a rental car yet, do so right away. This inventory can go away pretty quickly. And that’s what we’ve seen over the last several years. But it’s important to lock in that rate now and also get that rental car reserved now,” Wright explained.
Whether or not you plan to travel this weekend, gas prices are still a concern for everyone.
Patrick De Haan from GasBuddy said prices are actually lower this year than they were last Labor Day weekend.
"All 50 states are seeing gas prices lower going into this Labor Day than what we saw last year,” De Haan said. "And that’s the good news takeaway here is that so far this summer, and certainly now, gas prices are quite a bit below their last year level."
Still, you may have seen an increase at the pump earlier this week. De Haan explained that it’s just part of a temporary natural cycle.
"Yeah, I think most stations will see prices probably start going back down,” De Haan said. "There could be a couple low-price stations that do move up, but the stations, if you’ve seen them, that have just gone up, I expect those prices to start going back down a penny or two a day."
Drivers said they are keeping an eye on gas prices.
Vincent Thomspon lives in Charleston.
“Hopefully they don’t go up. I’m hoping the stay low. That’s the whole key,” Thomspon said.
Zachary Shrift lives in Sumter but works in Lexington.
“Honestly when gas prices go up, I have to figure out which vehicle I’m going to take, because when I have a truck like this getting 19, 20 miles to the gallon, it’s a lot more expensive to run further distances. I mean this weekend if I’m going to go anywhere, I’ll take my Beetle,” Shrift said.
AAA said that even though gas prices have risen recently, Labor Day fuel prices are still the lowest in three years. One final tip this weekend before you go for that drive: you might want to try the scenic route instead.
"So, if your travel plans allow you to take some backroads, maybe take the scenic route," advised AAA's White. "You might actually shave off some of your time. But the big thing here is don’t be in a hurry to reach your destination. We’re going to have a ton of travelers on the road. Everybody trying to get to the same place all at once, so it’s going to be busy. Just give yourself extra time."