A new app that will allow travelers to know the approximate wait times for crossing from San Diego to Tijuana will be available on the phones of any binational traveler.
The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), the California Department of Transportation, and the Mexican government are working together to provide the public with this new digital option.
The app will provide information on vehicle crossing times from north to south and vice versa and should be ready by summer.
"This summer, an app will be released where they will give you real-time information to cross in Otay and San Ysidro, and we are seeing it as a system that will improve all the communities around our border crossings in San Diego. We invested money in Tijuana to measure this equipment and measure wait times in both directions," said María Rodríguez, representative of SANDAG.
The digital plan is part of projects aimed at improving mobility in the international border crossings of both Californias.
The monitoring equipment for the new technology will be installed at the entry and exit ports to provide motorists with real-time data.
"SANDAG and CALTRANS started with the permits from the city of Tijuana, they gave us the permits, and everything is already processed, and then this equipment will be given to the Mexican government. We are in the development of the app, the times are being collected, and we are doing this trial period. We haven't opened it to the public yet, but we are verifying that it is accurate," said the San Diego Association of Governments' project manager.
The Mexican government supports the use of technology and hopes that it will help travelers better plan their trips from one country to another.
"I am very pleased because it is a binational collaboration effort where the municipality of Tijuana is also participating with SANDAG. It is about creating an app similar to QuickMap that Caltrans already has and that serves for the roads here in California," said Carlos Gonzalez Gutierrez, Consul General of Mexico in San Diego.
Students from Southern California, as well as young adults who work in US territory, would be the main beneficiaries of the app as they are frequent travelers to the border.
"70% of the people who use the San Ysidro border crossing are commuters, meaning they are people who come and go on the same day. 40% have Sentri, 30% have Ready Lane, and this is because Tijuana is increasingly becoming the space where San Diego residents find affordable housing," said the Mexican embassy representative.
Currently, the new app is in the testing phase at the San Ysidro and Otay border crossings.
"There is no official launch date yet, but I can confirm that it is being worked on, and we will have good news soon," concluded Carlos Gonzalez.
