Community Corner

Saving Money on Gas for Thanksgiving Travel

Several mobile apps and websites can help you fuel up for less before you hit the road this Thanksgiving.

Gas prices are on the decline in Downers Grove, from $3.72 in October to $3.58 this week, according to AAA.

If you’re looking for less expensive gas as you hit the road for Thanksgiving, there are several mobile apps and websites that may help.

Here in the Downers Grove area, check the Patch transportation page. It features the lowest gas prices in our neighborhood as well as current traffic congestion on major roadways in the area.

Find out what's happening in Downers Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When you're on the road: 

  • AAA’s TripTik Planner is available online or through a mobile app for Android and iPhone. It includes current prices at more than 85,000 gas stations throughout the United States.
  • Install and launch the iGasUp app for iPhone or Android, and the 10 cheapest gas stations closest to your current location will appear.
  • With GasBuddy.com, you can select your state, county and city to find gas prices from several places in the area. It’s also available for Android and iPhone devices.
  • You can also go to Mapquest.com, enter an address, city or ZIP code, and Mapquest will return a map with markers for nearby gas stations, starting with the ones with the lowest gas prices. It also shows you which gas stations have expensive gas, so you know which gas stations to avoid.

Gas Prices May Keep Falling

Find out what's happening in Downers Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

AAA’s National Thanksgiving Travel Forecast estimates the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline will drop to somewhere between $3.25 and $3.40 by Thanksgiving. Last year, the Thanksgiving average was $3.32 nationwide.

"Despite the historically high prices paid by motorists this year, the national average has declined by nearly 40 cents a gallon since early October and should continue to drop through the end of the year,” according to AAA. 

The national average price of gas for Thanksgiving from 2007-2011 is $2.75 a gallon.

Thanksgiving Travel to Increase for Fourth Consecutive Year

AAA estimates 43.6 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend—an increase of 0.7 percent from last year. The increase marks the fourth consecutive year of growing holiday travelers since 2008 when Thanksgiving travel fell by 25 percent, according to a press release.

The total number of Illinois travelers will be 2.3 million, a 0.6 percent increase from 2011, according to AAA. 

— Patch Editor Beth Lawton contributed to this report.

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