Tuesday just might be the busiest travel day of the holiday season as AAA Mid-Atlantic expects nearly 1.4 million people throughout the Philadelphia region to begin commuting ahead of upcoming celebrations.
Jana Tidwell, of AAA Mid-Atlantic, told NBC10’s Lili Zheng that the motor club expects to see record-setting travel numbers this holiday season.
“Triple A is expecting record travel volume across the country and Philly is no different,” Tidwell said.
On the roads, AAA Mid-Atlantic expects 1.2 million travelers will be driving to their destinations for the holidays and about 93,000 are expected to be headed to the airports.
Yet, as of about 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, travelers were moving smoothly through the Philadelphia International Airport with only about a 20 minute wait reported for the TSA lines.
No flights had been cancelled out of the Philadelphia International Airport, but seven have seen delays as of about 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday.
By opting to travel in off-peak times, she said, commuters should find the trip a little easier.
“If you could hit the road before ten this morning or later this evening, you’ll see the least impact in terms of traffic,” she said.
That will likely change, she said, as the day goes on and people hit the roads after work on Tuesday.
“We will see this ebb and flow throughout the day,” she said.
Staying in Philly for the holidays?
For those that will be traveling in and around Philadelphia over the holidays, SEPTA has announced changes to its schedule for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
In a statement, SEPTA officials said, all modes of transportation that the mass transit provider offers will be operating on a modified service schedule on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
For full schedule changes, click here.
On Christmas Eve, SEPTA said all Metro and Regional Rail lines will operate on a normal weekday schedule.
But, select bus routes will operate on a modified weekday schedule.
All other bus routes run weekday levels of service with no school trips.
And, on Christmas Day, the metro and bus lines will operate on a Sunday schedule.
Officials also said that bus route 204 will not run on Christmas Day.
And, all Regional Rail lines will operate on special Christmas schedules during the holiday.
Specific changes for each line are available here.
And, SEPTA said there will be no service on the Cynwyd Line on Christmas Day.
SEPTA also alerted riders to be on the look out for “Festibuses,” that will be roaming through neighborhoods for the first time this holiday season. These decorated SEPTA buses will pick up passengers daily through Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025.
To track the decorated buses and trolleys, click here.
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