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Road Trips are on the rise, despite inflation and COVID-19

Video Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

TIANNAH BIRDSONG: The ‘American road trip’ has been a family staple for decades, but with COVID-19, inflation and ripple effects due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, many people put their travel plans on hold. But now, the road trip is coming back, but with a vengeance.

“Revenge traveling'' is the concept of making up for this lost time by binge traveling now, in spite of rising gas prices and inflation.

The continental United States accounts for over 3.1 million square miles of land, much of it traversable by car. But why travel by car, especially with gas prices on the rise?

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COMMUNITY REACTIONS: $5 for gas is outrageous. Just this… it’s not worth it. Triple. Triple of what I used to pay. I’m going to have to work more than 40 hours to afford this. It stinks because everything else is higher, and they don’t, they don’t give a damn about people anymore.

TIANNAH BIRDSONG: Gas prices have been on an upward trend since April 202, with the national average hitting an all-time high, this year of around $5.

While gas is expensive, for trips with multiple destinations or flexible agendas, driving can still be cheaper than a plane ticket. Whether you’re planning an adventure from the Statue of Liberty to the Grand Canyon, or a drive along the iconic Route 66, it’s important to budget.

Here’s 3 popular American road trips, we’ve calculated an approximate cost of gas, that’s based on two different vehicles - a 2022 Toyota RAV4 and a 2022 Honda Civic.

[MUSIC PLAYING, BACKGROUND AMBIENCE]

TIANNAH BIRDSONG: This is the Nguyen family. They’re driving their 2022 Toyota RAV4 SUV from the bustle of New York City to the scenic Grand Canyon in Arizona. Traveling via I-70 West to I-40 West, the trip will take them approximately 3 days. That’s driving at about 12 hours a day. With gas prices averaging around $371 ($370.32) total one way.

However, if the Nguyen family were to take a 2022 Honda Civic instead, the trip would cost them about $337 ($337.02) in gas in one way - around a $34 difference from the cost of driving the SUV.

Next, we have the Johnson family who have opted for a day trip. They will be starting their journey at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and ending at Smokey Mountains National Park in North Carolina, clocking a little over 5 hours driving.

As they traverse the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Toyota RAV4 consumes about $50 ($50.37) in gas, and the Honda Civic about $46 ($45.79). That’s a $5 difference (approximately).

Finally, we have the Ruiz-Smith family who are starting their trip in Chicago and ending in Santa Monica Beach in California, following the historic Route 66. With 12 hours of driving per day, the Ruiz-Smith family’s trip would take a little under 3 days, and cost approximately $333 ($333.47) in the Toyota RAV4. With the Honda Civic, the same trip would cost about $303 ($303.16) in gas. That’s a $30 difference (approximately).

[MUSIC PLAYING]

TIANNAH BIRDSONG: Are you planning a road trip this summer?

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Video Transcript

- The American road trip has been a family staple for decades, but with COVID-19, inflation, and ripple effects due to the Russian-Ukranian war, many people put their travel plans on hold. But now, the road trip is coming back, but with a vengeance. Revenge traveling is the concept of making up for this lost time by binge traveling now, in spite of rising gas prices and inflation.

The continental United States accounts for over 3.1 million square miles of land, much of it traversable by car. But why travel by car, especially with gas prices on the rise?

- $5 for gas is outrageous.

- Paying, just it's not worth it. Triple, triple what I used to pay.

- I'm going to have to work more than 40 hours to afford this.

- Stinks, because everything else is higher. And they don't give a damn about people anymore.

- Gas prices have been on an upward trend since April 2020, with the national average hitting an all-time high this year of around $5. While gas is expensive, for trips with multiple destinations or flexible agendas, driving can still be cheaper than a plane ticket.

Whether you're planning an adventure from the Statue of Liberty to the Grand Canyon, or a drive along the iconic Route 66, it's important to budget. Here's three popular American road trips. We've calculated an approximate cost of gas that's based on two different vehicles, a 2022 Toyota RAV4, and a 2022 Honda Civic.

This is the Nguyen family.

- Tap your brakes. I'm walking here.

- They're driving their 2022 Toyota RAV4 SUV from the bustle of New York City to the scenic Grand Canyon in Arizona, traveling via I-70 West to I-40 West. The trip will take them approximately three days. That's driving about 12 hours a day, with gas prices averaging to $371 total one way.

However, if the Nguyen family were to take a 2022 Honda Civic instead, the trip will cost them about $337 in gas in one way, around a $34 difference from the cost of driving the SUV.

Next we have the Johnson family, who have opted for a day trip. They will be starting their journey at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, and ending at Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, clocking a little over 5 hours driving.

As they traverse the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Toyota RAV4 consumes about $50 in gas, and the Honda Civic about $46. That's a $5 difference.

Finally, we have the Ruiz-Smith family, who are starting their trip in Chicago, and ending in Santa Monica Beach in California, following the historic Route 66. With 12 hours of driving per day, the Ruiz-Smith family's trip will take a little under three days, and cost approximately $333 in the Toyota RAV4. With the Honda Civic, the same trip will cost about $303 in gas. That's the $30 difference.

Are you planning a road trip this summer?

[MUSIC PLAYING]