This Is The Worst Time To Travel In NYC This Christmas

NEW YORK CITY – You know not to go to Times Square or walk down Fifth Avenue at this time of year, and now a new study has revealed when you should plan to avoid driving anywhere in the city.

The American Automobile Association has pinpointed the time when most people are going to hit the roads during the Christmas holiday – the point when you should make sure you're not behind the wheel.

For New York City, the worst time for you to be driving anywhere will be on Dec. 26 between 4:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m., the association says. Delays are expected to be 2.7 times greater than normal.

More Americans than ever recorded – 115.6 million of them – are expected to travel this holiday season, from Saturday, Dec. 21 through Wednesday, Jan. 1. It’s an increase of 3.9 percent from 2018, or 4.3 million people, according to the AAA.

For much of the rest of the week, congestion should be lighter than normal as schools are closed and many people are on vacation – though the tourist hotspots will be packed. NYC is the seventh most popular place to visit in America for the holidays, the AAA said.

“With kids out of school and many Americans taking extended time off for the holidays, drivers will experience only incremental delays throughout the week,” Trevor Reed, a transportation analyst at INRIX, a private analytics company, said.

“Although congestion will be lighter than normal, knowing when and where major delays will likely happen will help save time and reduce stress this holiday season.”

A recent analysis by the AAA also found that Dec. 22 will be the single busiest air travel day during the holiday week, with travelers having to spend an average of $593-$639 on a single ticket.