As plane tickets are bought, cars gassed up and trains and buses boarded, students are finding that the cost of traveling home for winter break has increased significantly from last year.
Fuel costs have raised the price of not only driving but also other forms of transportation. Overall, the cost of a flight out of Buffalo has increased four percent during the last year, according to the Air Travel Price Index from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
An average plane fare from the Buffalo Niagara International Airport to New York City starts at $114 through JetBlue, one of the cheapest airlines The Spectrum could find. And those rates can get as high as $300 or beyond with other carriers.
The average Greyhound bus ticket from Buffalo the Rochester increased from $17.50 to $19.00 in recent weeks, and while Greyhound officials could not provide how much fares to New York have changed, the cost of $76.50 is higher than most students remember.
Amtrak surprisingly is the cheapest option for getting home, outside of driving. A train ticket from Buffalo's Depew Amtrak station is $66.
While flying by air may be more expensive, it should be much faster than the land routes, right? Not quite, said Doug Hartmayer, a representative for the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport.
"It is a busy time, the airport will be busy. Arrive no later than 90 minutes before departure - this gives time to park, arrive, and go through security with ample time. There are also tips on buffaloairport.com to make the experience more enjoyable," he said.
Though the federal government is easing travel restrictions this season, Hartmayer said you still shouldn't carry sharp objects, as a security check can delay travelers even more.
The bigger travel threat for students here, however, is Buffalo's notorious winter weather, a problem that has delayed end-of-semester flights almost every year. Hartmayer said while weather is unavoidable, travelers can expect the airport to make reasonable shelter accommodations for them in the event of inclement weather.
Traveling by bus or train, while it may take longer than eight hours, offers the advantage of not only being cheaper, but security checks are simply not as stringent as in air travel. Ground travel is also not affected quite as much by the winter weather as air travel.
Travel costs for mass transit have increased dramatically but even driving home is not saving students money compared to a year ago.
Some students living closer to UB said even they are feeling the effects of money and traveling home. Last year the average cost of regular unleaded gas was $2.09 in the Buffalo-Niagara region, according to the American Automobile Association. This year the average cost is $2.37. While that is cheaper than a September high of about $2.80, it is still an almost 23 percent increase.
"I don't go home because the gas costs too much. I don't make enough money to go to school and home more than once a month," said Alissa Fleming, a freshman business major.
Other students have a family member coming to pick them up, and although the students don't feel the financial burden so much, their family members do.
"My parents are coming to pick me up Sunday evening," said Brittney Bogardus, a freshman undecided major. "I only live just past Syracuse, but it's still pretty costly for them to come pick me up more than I have to, so I never really go home just to go."
