New Year's Travel Should Be Heavy

BROOKSVILLE - The soaring price of gas is not stopping people from hitting the road this Christmas and New Year's.

AAA Auto Club South is forecasting a sharp rise in travel, despite the price of unleaded self-serve gas nudging $3 per gallon in many areas, about 70 cents more per gallon than last year.

A 16-percent hike in airfares is also not scaring anyone from booking flights, AAA reports.

"The Christmas-New Year's holiday gatherings offer memorable times to reunite and share the festive traditions that families celebrate and pass along to each generation," said Kevin Bakewell, senior vice president of AAA Auto Club South.

"Although the cost of travel is up significantly, we do not believe those costs will discourage very many," Bakewell said.

County Tourism development Director Sue Rupe said some local hotel managers are reporting large numbers of guests this weekend.

Rupe said she typically checks with the managers after the holidays to gauge the amount of business.

But any revenue uptick would be welcome, especially with tourism tax revenue down in October and November, she said.

The county imposes a 3 percent bed tax applied to hotel and campground guests.

And this year, tourists to Hernando County and the Tampa Bay area will find it easier than ever getting around.

Many rental car customers traveling on the Suncoast Parkway and other state toll roads can now use the SunPass-only lanes to pay tolls - even without a transponder.

Joanne Hurley, community relations coordinator for Florida's Turnpike, said the process works through "license plate imaging."

When the driver goes through the SunPass-only lane, an electronic device picks up the plate pass and bills the rental company.

Hurley said she expects more people to use rental cars during the holiday season.

Meanwhile, Hurley said work is still set to begin on opening a SunPass-only lane at the Suncoast Parkway interchanges at State Road 50 and County Line Road.

Currently, SunPass customers must queue up in one line with their non-pass counterparts who have to pay the quarter toll. That can lead to long lines while SunPass patrons have to wait for others to fish for change to throw into the coin bucket.

But once the new lane opens, SunPass users will bypass coin patrons.

Once the work begins, Hurley said it should take at least six to eight weeks to finish the conversion process.

The $1.25 million project will affect eight interchanges throughout the length of the Suncoast Parkway in Hernando and Pasco counties and the Veterans Expressway in Hillsborough County.