By PATRICK JOHNSON
The Springfield Republican
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Roads will be crowded. Buses and trains will be crowded. Airlines will be crowded.
And if Western Massachusetts had a cruise line, space shuttle or charter submarine service available for Thanksgiving travelers, you can bet those would be crowded too.
If the past is any indicator, today is going to be one of the most traveled days of the year.
Thousands of people in Western Massachusetts, like millions of others across the country, will hop into cars, board buses, trains and airplanes to dash - hopefully - somewhere for the Thanksgiving break.
At least, that’s what the Massachusetts State Police, AAA Pioneer Valley, Peter Pan Bus Lines and Bradley International Airport anticipate.
“Obviously, notoriously, this is one of the busiest traffic periods of the year,” said Trooper Eric J. Benson of the state police Public Affairs Bureau. “We expect heavy traffic on all major thoroughfares.”
Benson said state police will have extra patrols on the road to collar drunken or reckless drivers through Nov. 28.
Three sobriety checkpoints are planned at various times in Middlesex, Plymouth and Worcester counties, he said. None are planned in any of the four western counties.
Last year there were six traffic fatalities in Massachusetts over the Thanksgiving weekend, although none involved alcohol, he said.
Special attention will be given to enforcing the state’s seat belt laws as part of the Click it or Ticket campaign. Although 69 percent of drivers and passengers wear seat belts in Massachusetts, the state still lags behind the national average of 82 percent, he said.
Sandra Marsian of AAA Pioneer Valley said that even though the average price of gasoline in Massachusetts is about $2.99, having increased 35 cents per gallon over the last 5 weeks, people are not expected to curtail their driving.
The average cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline last Thanksgiving was $2.15, she said. AAA is estimating 38.7 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles for the holiday, a slight increase from a year ago.
Eighty percent of all holiday travelers, or about 31 million people, travel by automobile, she said. Another 4.7 million travel by plane, and 2.8 million will go by bus or train.
Kevin P. Mulcahy, director of operations for Peter Pan Bus Lines, said the cost of gasoline is leading more people to hop on the bus this year.
“Over the last 11/2 months, a lot more people are using our service,” he said. Peter Pan has already added more buses for trips to Boston, Albany and New York City.
Now through Sunday is typically the busiest time of the year, but this year it seems to have started earlier than previous years, Mulcahy said. The rush began yesterday, one day before it usually does, he said.
“We’re seeing significant increase in ridership today,” he said. “People are taking a head start.”
John Wallace, spokesman for Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, said the airlines are expected a 4 percent overall increase in traffic over the Thanksgiving travel period.
That period actually begins each year the Friday before the holiday and ends the Monday after it, he said.
People tend to spread out their departures, but they all tend to come back on the same day, he said.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving is typically the busiest day of the year for U.S. airlines, while the following Monday is the second busiest. Based on previous years, today will be the third busiest day of the year, he said.
“Be patient. Show up early and be patient,” he said. “We’ll do our best to get you where you need to be.”
Copyright 2007 The Republican
All Rights Reserved
brace for hilday travel rush