Almost half of Americans plan to travel for the holidays this year, according to a study by The Harris Poll. Longmonters are following similar trends.
Eight Black Airport Shuttle noted its busiest day in company history was Nov. 17. The shuttle service had 253 passengers. The busy day was largely due to University of Colorado students heading home for the holiday, according to Darin Williams, business development manager at Eight Black. The increased travel forced the shuttle service to outsource a few vehicles to accommodate the extra travelers, Williams said.
The local service estimates that 2,500 passengers will use the service during the Thanksgiving season and they project to accommodate 5,000 passengers during the Christmas season. These totals are substantially higher than 2022 numbers, Williams said.
In 2022, one in five nontravelers said they were not traveling due to health worries or concerns about delays. Those numbers have dropped to one in ten this year, according to a Deloitte survey.
Williams said travel in Eight Black’s service area has grown 20% in 2023 over 2022 numbers.
December is also looking busy for the local service. Eight Black already has half as many reservations as it had passengers in 2022 with weeks left before the month begins.
