Gas prices crimping vacation plans?

The soaring price of gas is causing some Americans to consider changing, or even canceling, the family road trip that has long served as the centerpiece of summer.

"This summer, high gasoline prices appear to be dampening Americans' intent to travel," said Robert Sinclair Jr., a spokesman for the AAA in New York. "If a trend toward higher gas prices and fewer travelers were to continue, it could eventually impact travel-dependent companies that provide employment opportunities and tax revenues in almost every city and town in America." Are people really changing their travel plans?

Gas prices averaged $4.023 for a gallon of regular today, according to the AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Experts don't expect them to ease anytime soon.

"If, and this is a big if, gas prices pull back, it would likely be after the Fourth of July holiday," said Stephen Schork, the editor of The Schork Report, an energy industry newsletter.

Digging for deals

But don't rule out a vacation just yet.

"Americans consider their vacations sacrosanct," Sinclair said. "People are being more discreet. They still want to take their holiday, but they're planning more carefully."

Americans are tough, said Brian Hoyt, the vice president of corporate communications at Orbitz Worldwide.

"Americans are used to tough economic times and challenging environments in which to travel. They've become ever-increasingly resilient," Hoyt said. "Americans will continue to travel; they're just going to change the way they travel. On a road trip, maybe people are staying a little closer to home. In booking a hotel room, maybe they'll stay at Holiday Inn Express, where they can get free breakfast, instead of staying at the InterContinental." How high gas prices actually help

Tell us: Canceling your vacation because of gas prices?

Many Americans may leave the keys at home and still enjoy great vacations. Graphic: 4 gas-saving tips for summer driving

"Greyhound is an affordable and safe alternative to filling up your car for driving on vacation or going to work," said Dustin Clark, a spokesman for Greyhound. Clark was not shy about pitching the special offers on the bus line's Web site.

"A lot of terminals across the country offer affordable food options, along with affordable fares," Clark said. "Traveling Greyhound prevents you from filling up your car several times during a vacation or a long trip."

Travelers can also find cheap trips on Megabus and BoltBus.

And let's not forget the train.

Amtrak spokesman Cliff Cole suggests train travel is "more convenient and reliable than driving on our nation's congested highways or waiting (in) line for hours to check in at the nation's crowded airports."

Amtrak is offering a summer special on its Auto Train between Lorton, Va., near Washington, D.C., and the Orlando, Fla., area. Amtrak's Kids Ride Free promotion allows two children to ride the train for free when accompanied by an adult paying full fare. Travelers can check out other fares and deals on Amtrak.com. The challenge for mass transit

Travel sites are offering deals, too. Expedia is offering travelers $50 worth of gas on a prepaid MasterCard when they book a hotel stay of three nights or more through its Web site. The cards are redeemable through Aug. 31, so vacationers have the whole summer to use them.

"Summer vacation is an American institution, and we want to ensure that the price of gas doesn't come between travelers and this precious time to get away," said Paul Brown, the president of Expedia. "We're offering values that will allow all travelers to plan the summer adventure getaway that is right for them."

Changes in drivers' behavior

Summer vacations are not the only things that may be changing with record gas prices. People who normally drive to and from work are starting to think hard about that daily commute.

"It takes a very long, prolonged spike in price over a long time for commuters to change behavior," newsletter editor Schork said. "It appears we have now approached that level."

The number of miles traveled on U.S. roads fell 3.9% in December 2007, compared with the previous December, according to a Federal Highway Administration estimate. For all of 2007, the number of vehicle miles declined an estimated 0.4%, to 3 billion -- the first annual decline since the agency started keeping track 25 years ago.

The decline has continued this year. Travel on U.S. roads fell an estimated 1.7% in January and 0.4% in February. And the highway agency said vehicle miles slumped 4.3% in March, the first time March travel had fallen since 1979.

Some people are biking to work, and others are buying scooters.

"We're seeing a spike in the number of calls we're getting from people wanting tips on bicycle commuting," Bill Nesper, a spokesman for the League of American Bicyclists in Washington, D.C., told The Associated Press.

Sales of name-brand scooters such as Honda, Yamaha, Vespa and Suzuki rose 24% in the first quarter, said Mike Mount, a spokesman for the Motorcycle Industry Council, a trade group.

A turn to mass transit

With more cars in the garage, mass transit seems to have become the way for many people to get around.

Americans took 10.3 billion trips on public transportation in 2007, a 2.1% increase from 2006 and the highest level in 50 years, according to the American Public Transportation Association.

"The quickest way people can beat the high price of gas is to use public transportation," association President William Millar said. "In light of high gas prices, increased road congestion and expanded public transit services, this continued growth in ridership demonstrates how important public transportation is for America."

Still, Americans love their cars.

"Demand for gasoline is the most inelastic of all commodities," Schork said. He explained that with suburban sprawl and more companies moving to campuslike settings on former farmland, many people have no choice but to drive to work.

"The push to mass transit can only be so large," Schork said.

Still cheap relative to the rest of the world

Americans may be feeling pressured at the pump, but gas in the U.S. is still pretty cheap compared with many other countries around the world. Graphic: World's most expensive fill-ups

A survey of gas prices by Associates for International Research, a cost-of-living research company, ranked U.S. prices the 44th cheapest out of 154 countries. That's partly because the U.S. government has made an effort to keep gas prices low, while many European countries impose heavy taxes on gasoline. The average tax in Europe constitutes 60% of the price of gas.

Gas taxes vary by state in the U.S., but the average combined state and federal taxes amounted to 47 cents a gallon in the first quarter of 2008, according to API, a trade group for the oil and natural-gas industries.

The survey by Associates for International Research found the world's most expensive gasoline in the East African nation of Eritrea, where regular gas was $9.58 a gallon. The cheapest was in Venezuela, an oil-producing nation where regular gas cost a mere 12 cents a gallon.

Venezuela has heavily subsidized gas prices since the 1940s and hasn't raised prices since 1998. Many Venezuelans believe cheap fuel is a right, and attempts to end the subsidy have prompted riots and turmoil.