During the summer and Christmas holidays, nearly half of all Americans travel all over the United States to go home, to meet their families, or to just have fun during the holidays. However, the mass exodus of travelers across is putting America’s transport system at a huge stress, as it is unable to handle so many people.
Take air travel for instance. Just this year, The Florida Times Union noted that the average American plane spent nearly 30 minutes stuck in airports between flights, Even with flights booking overtime to handle the mass influx of passengers.
Additionally, many overbooked flights have been canceled, since many airlines are unable to accommodate while also managing affordability. As a result, the price of tickets soars during peak holiday season, with the average price of tickets jumping as much as 25%.
Additionally, many northern states face brutal winters during the Christmas season, which leads to additional delays associated with air travel.
In fact, Pleasant Valley Junior Becca Hahm expressed her frustrations that air travel had caused her. “Over the summer, I traveled to Paris for vacation where I had a really long layover. The flight that we are on we landed but there was no runway for the plane to land on so we had to circle the airport for hours while the plane tried to find a place to land,” she said.
Hahm is not the only person that has this problem. Every year, thousands of flights get canceled or significantly delayed because of the crowding of air traffic during the holiday season.
The combination of all of these factors and the rush that accompanies Christmas air traveling has led people to opt by traveling by car. However, the roads also face a myriad of challenges during the Christmas season.
For one, the Christmas season is also one of the coldest and snowiest seasons of the year, making it one of the most dangerous seasons for cars. As the roads get more slippery, the likelihood that car accidents happen rises by 24%, according to Stewart Law Offices.
This has been particularly damaging for the Quad Cities, as the cities faced an ever-increasing buildup of traffic on roads preceding the winter holidays last year.
Hahm also shared resentment with car traffic while on vacation. “When we were going out to dinner in Los Angeles, the car traffic got so bad at one point that it took us nearly one hour to travel 20 miles… also, in the city, people were coming for vacation and going on vacation, and so people were more aggressive in driving,” she noted.
With roads congested, the average travel times of journeys lengthens significantly during trips, which could have a detrimental effect on productivity, with people and businesses grinding to a halt well before the holidays begins.
With companies coming to a halt and transport facilities being significantly diminished, it is no surprise that the winter holidays are the time of year where the most hospital fatalities occur, as most hospitals are severely understaffed to be able to handle patients.
Additionally, wait times are longer, police responses are slower and emergency care is available later.
As Iowa prepares for the upcoming winter season, it is clear the transportation system has been diminished significantly, highlighting a pressing need for improved transport infrastructure and holiday travel management.
