July 4th at a Distance
AAA expects we will take 700 million trips this summer. That is about 120 million, or 15%, fewer outings than we embarked on last summer.
While that sounds like good news for the economy, it should come with the warning that objects in the mirror appear larger than they are. Cars make up 683 million of those trips. Airlines, cruise ships, rail, and other forms of mass transportation are missing out—with business expected to come in at 86% below last year’s levels.