Summer road trips and Fourth of July travel around Massachusetts and New England might be a “bit smoother” this year amid the coronavirus pandemic with fewer commuters and vacationers on the road, transportation experts tell the Herald.
A recent summer traffic study from INRIX and AAA predicts that travelers in the Bay State and the Boston metro region are “probably not going to run into normal traffic congestion.”
“It is important to note that travel this summer overall will most likely be lower than in recent years,” the travel prediction study stated.
Roads emptied out overnight at the start of the coronavirus shutdown in mid-March. There has been an uptick in traffic since Massachusetts started to reopen, but the peak congestion times are not nearly as bad as before the shutdown, AAA Northeast spokesman Mark Schieldrop told the Herald.
There’s quite a bit of traffic during a typical Fourth of July week, but this year is different, he said.
“This year there’s less commuter traffic and a decrease in the amount of travel traffic,” Schieldrop said. “That may mean your car trip is a bit smoother.
“All the more reason to keep your eyes on the road,” he added. “It just takes one crash and one fender bender for a smooth ride to the Cape to turn into another ordeal on the bridges.”
AAA forecasts Americans will take 700 million trips this summer, down nearly 15% compared to last July through September. That’s the first decline in summer travel since 2009.
Before the coronavirus, AAA had projected 857 million trips this summer, a 3.6% increase over last year. But the pandemic wiped out nearly 150 million trips this summer, Schieldrop said.
“We were expecting to see continued growth this year, but things have obviously changed,” he said.
More people this year are arranging last-minute trips, said AAA Northeast spokeswoman Mary Maguire.
“Americans will get out and explore this summer though they’re taking a ‘wait and see approach’ when it comes to booking and are likely to book more long weekend getaways than extended vacations,” Maguire said in a statement. “When they do venture out, the greatest share of travelers — 683 million — will take to the road to satisfy their wanderlust.”
