Business, Leisure Travel by Car Is Up

It is not the fear of terrorism that made Tony Lucente cancel his airline reservations and instead pack his car for a weekend drive to his brother’s wedding in San Francisco.

It is that Lucente, a Studio City resident and automobile industry executive, believes it is less stressful and less time-consuming to make a five-hour drive to the Bay Area than it is to get through airport security in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“It really was a decision to avoid the complexity of air travel,” he said.

Despite assurances from President Bush and Gov. Gray Davis that air travel is safe and returning to normal, many California business and leisure travelers who share Lucente’s concerns are instead hitting the road, particularly for trips within the state.

The trend seems evident by a recent increase in traffic on several interstate highways, a boost in business at some car rental agencies and a jump in requests for assistance in planning road trips at the Automobile Club of Southern California.

“It certainly has gotten people reacquainted with their car,” Lucente said.

This is despite near-empty planes on many flights and bargain ticket prices offered by some airlines since the attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

Some airlines, such as United, have substantially cut back on intrastate shuttle flights--particularly between Los Angeles and San Francisco--because of a sharp drop in demand.

Many business and leisure travelers say they are avoiding those flights to bypass the new time-consuming safety procedures, such as the request that passengers on domestic flights from Los Angeles International Airport arrive two hours before takeoff.

LAX officials have recommended such early arrival to give passengers time to deal with new Federal Aviation Administration restrictions.

That period may vary from airport to airport.

FAA and airline officials said they don’t know when--or if--such security measures will be eased.

“I’m sure that many of them will become a permanent part of travel,” said FAA spokesman Jerry Snyder.

As expected, there are many travelers who are driving because they simply can’t muster the courage to board an airplane and feel more in control behind the wheel.

It was a combination of both factors that prompted Orange County restaurant owner Will Rosoff and his wife, Linda, to scrap plans to fly to Berkeley this weekend for a college reunion.

Instead, they left Friday by car, making the six-hour drive with a portable television and video player strapped in the back seat to entertain their two young children.

“The fear of flying was the first and foremost reason on that first morning,” Will Rosoff said. “But then what we learned later is that traveling via air has become more complicated.”

He is not alone.

Since Sept. 11, traffic has increased 11% on the Golden State Freeway at the northern end of Los Angeles County, a stretch typically used by motorists driving to Central and Northern California, according to the California Department of Transportation.

Caltrans also reported slight increases in traffic on sections of Interstate 15, the main freeway Southern Californians take to Las Vegas, and on U.S. 101 near San Luis Obispo. Exact traffic figures were not available.

At the Auto Club, officials reported a spike in requests for help in planning road trips immediately after the attacks. Spokeswoman Carol Thorp said she believes that many of those travelers drove because they were left stranded away from home when the airlines canceled all flights.

“We saw the spike after the [attacks], and we believe it is due to people driving because they couldn’t fly,” she said.

Thorp said that it appears that many travelers are still driving instead of flying but that those numbers may have dropped slightly in the last week.

Budget Rent a Car Corp. acknowledged the trend toward increased driving last week when it reduced its rates and moved more cars out of its airport locations and into its downtown and suburban offices.

Immediately after the attacks, Budget officials said the number of one-way rentals jumped by nearly 60%, indicating stranded air travelers renting cars to return home.

In the last two weeks, business at Budget’s downtown and suburban offices has remained high while business at the airport offices has dropped about 25%, company officials said.

The extra traffic on the freeways, however, has not resulted in more accidents or congestion, according to Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol.

Transportation experts say the additional cars are not causing such problems because those motorists are not getting on the freeways during peak commute hours.

One of the travelers spending more time behind the wheel is Rod Clayton, a Los Angeles public relations executive. He recently drove two hours on a business trip to San Diego even though he said he can’t stand the monotony of sitting in a car for more than a few minutes.

In the past, Clayton said, he would take a 27-minute flight from LAX to San Diego. But such a flight is now out of the question, he said.

“A two-hour wait for a 27-minute flight makes no sense,” he said.