Thanksgiving is right around the corner! What are you thankful for? We’re thankful for time with family and friends.
In 2018, over 48 million people drove as a part of their holiday plans. An additional 30 million people traveled by air. Whether you’re driving to the airport or directly to your Thanksgiving dinner, that’s a lot of cars on the road in just a few days.
Here are some tips to help you make the most of your holiday so that you can spend less time fighting traffic and more time doing what’s important.
Driving in the Atlanta area this Thanksgiving?
Check out the Google’s recommendations for the best times to travel by car:
Overall, expect traffic on Wednesday evening to be heavier than usual across the metro Atlanta region. While in most areas of metro Atlanta, the traffic is expected to lighten up by the afternoon of Thanksgiving Day, Downtown and East Atlanta may still be experiencing heavy traffic – according to GDOT, they were last year! Make sure you plan ahead to avoid getting stuck in traffic and delaying your Thanksgiving dinner! Sunday afternoon will see more traffic than a typical Sunday, with much of it concentrated in the Downtown, South, West and East areas of Atlanta.
And, of course, we can’t forget about Black Friday.
Did you know that:
- 20% of holiday shopping is done between Thanksgiving Day and Cyber Monday
- In 2018, over 165 million people shopped between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday.
- Consumers are expected to spend an average of $1,047.83 this holiday season.
That’s a lot of shopping! Even though last year the U.S. saw a record $6.22 billion in online sales on Black Friday, in-person shopping may still cause some delays. Atlanta is likely to see traffic in the mid-morning and early afternoon hours on Black Friday, with 1:00 PM being the peak shopping time.
So, if you have the misfortune of having to work on Black Friday and your workplace is close to one of our major shopping destinations, park your car and take transit that day to skip the traffic!
And, if you’re planning to join the crowds of Black Friday shoppers, we have some great gift ideas to look out for to help expedite your shopping process!
- A bike – stylish, unique, lets people know you want to help them get started with their 2020 fit commuter goals
- Headphones – exciting, useful, says “I care about you still being able to listen to that one album you’ve been obsessed with recently even while you’re on public transit”
- A MARTA card – practical, easy to get, let’s your friends know that you care about them following their budget
- A sweater – functional, cute, says “I don’t want you to freeze in your -300° office”
As you’re scouring ads for the best deals on everything from shoes to TVs, don’t forget to save money all year long by signing up and logging your clean commute! Not only does it help you reduce costs, but it can also earn you money! Learn more here.
Wishing you a happy, healthy, traffic-free Thanksgiving holiday!