Aug 31, 2008

Agency: Labor Day travel stalls in Bay Area

By Janis Mara / Bay Area News Group

They'll be playing pinochle, sipping mojitos or picnicking, but one thing many Bay Area residents won't be doing this Labor Day weekend is going out of town.

For the first time in a decade, fewer Californians are expected to take Labor Day vacations this year, according to AAA of Northern California. About 4.3 million Californians will travel 50 miles or more this Labor Day weekend, a 1.4 percent drop from last year, said Cynthia Harris, a spokeswoman for AAA.

With this in mind, BART is running longer trains on Saturday and Sunday to accommodate residents attending local events instead of going out of town.

"Gas is too expensive for a driving trip," said Mike Carter of Belmont, who is planning a bus trip and picnic in the Bay Area for the weekend. And Carter is not alone.

Harris anticipates a 1.8 percent decrease in driving vacations, with 3.5 million Californians taking to the highway. Air travel will see a drop of 3.4 percent, with about 590,000 Californians planning to fly. Both driving and air travel are down nationwide as well, with some 34 million Americans taking vacations.

"High gas prices, the looming uncertainty of the nation's economy and embattled airlines raising rates and adding fees," were factors cited by Harris for the travel slump.

Elfriede Duncan of Brentwood, a certified personal accountant, said she would love to visit her son but can't afford it.

"I get 24 miles a gallon," Duncan said, "but he lives almost 400 miles away in Los Angeles. It would cost $130 or more."

Like many others in the Bay Area, Duncan is having a "staycation," throwing a big barbecue with neighbors. "We're going to make mojitos and relax," Duncan said.

Flying is even less of an option. "Flying would cost me $250," she said.

Along those lines, some 20,000 fewer people will wing their ways to vacation via Oakland International Airport this weekend compared with last year, a spokeswoman estimated.

"Last year we estimated around 200,000 passengers would travel through Oakland over the five-day (Labor Day weekend) period," said spokeswoman Rosemary Barnes. "We're about 10 percent off that number, with the economy and because we have three fewer airlines." Aloha, ATA and Skybus Airlines went out of business over the last year.