Holiday Travel Season Comes To An End In Maryland

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Today marks the official end of the holiday travel season. Millions of Marylanders took to highways, railways and by air to get to many places around the world. Marcus Washington spoke with travelers today about the end of the travel season and the trip back home.

For many travelers, they are feeling two things right about the now: dreading the trip back home, but quickly followed by the desire to be home.

Slow moving traffic is just one of the many ways people are wrapping up their holiday travel.

"Today has not been that great. There has been a lot of traffic and it's been rainy and a lot of people being careful on the road," says Yleana Roman, who's traveling from DC to NY.

Yleana Roman is wrapping up her trip, flying from Arizona to dc, now she's driving home to New York.

"The airport wasn't so bad, it's quick. There were a lot of people traveling, but at least it was quick. I went through the airport fairly easy in DC," says Roman.

According to AAA 103 million Americans were expected to travel from Friday, December 23 to Monday, January 2. 2.2 million of those travelers are from Maryland.

"The vast majority, both nationally and here in Maryland, will be driving. About 91% will be driving to their destinations," says AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Ragina Avarella.

And driving this year was a no-brainer for many travelers, since current gas prices are some of the cheapest New Year's Day prices in nearly a decade.

"Because I have three kids and it's really a pain to [travel by plane]. This way, everybody who has to go to the bathroom can get out and walk around. We can stretch. And I actually prefer seeing all the states, instead of being on a plane and in Florida in two hours," says Tara Swicicki, who was traveling from Orlando to New York.

And with more fuel-efficient cars on the roads, many travelers have minimal cost for their drive. Marcus was

"I drive a Prius and it only takes $10," says Kalishia Davis, traveling from Silver Spring to Pennsylvania.

A spokesperson with AAA says during the busy holiday travel season, they rescue 980,000 motorists along the roads in America. They say make sure everything is okay with the car and that you have a charged cell phone. That way, if anything goes wrong, you can call for help.

Holiday travel this year is up 1.5 percent nationally, and 1.4 percent in Maryland.

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