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Howard
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Location: Loreto/Manhattan Beach/Kona
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Mood: I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.
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Websites for border crossing wait times?
I still don't have my Global/Sentri pass and will be crossing Northbound more than usual for me. I like to use Tecate but it's starting to get a
little busier than before.
I know there are some web sites out there that allegedly give accurate wait times. Before leaving the Punta Banda area I could check the web site and
decide when I should leave and what exit point I should use.
As an example here is one but I do not know how good it is.
https://bwt.cbp.gov/index.html?com=1&pas=1&ped=1&...
Which web sites do you find the most accurate?
[Edited on 9-15-2017 by Howard]
We don't stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing
George Bernard Shaw
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
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Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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Search the app store.
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sancho
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Location: OC So Cal
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The 2 I know have the same info, I believe the info comes from CBP, I add 45 min. to their time. To me logic tells one when
to cross. Depends if one has the liberty of time on their side, as in living in Baja. The typical tourist doesn't have that. I can't imagine
looking at one of the sites expecting the 3 hr. wait to all of a
sudden shrink to 30 min. Have heard Facebook has a TJ
crossing time page, never have searched it out though
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Udo
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None of the sites (there are 3 of them) are very good or accurate.
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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Howard
Super Nomad
Posts: 2353
Registered: 11-13-2007
Location: Loreto/Manhattan Beach/Kona
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Mood: I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.
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Are you guys telling me that the government is for real giving out fake news? 
[Edited on 9-16-2017 by Howard]
We don't stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing
George Bernard Shaw
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SFandH
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There is almost zero traffic now at TJ crossings, 6:45 pm Friday
http://wp.1045radiolatina.com/garitas/ - close the short video that starts up.
I've seen numbers as high as 450.
This website is accurate, updated every 1/2 hour. No data after 8 PM nor on Sundays. It shows date and time of last update.
Figure 45 seconds per car, mas o menos, standard (izquierda) lanes, faster Ready lanes, faster faster Sentri lanes.
Same data on the radio every 10 minutes or so - 104.5 FM. Popular TJ radio station.
[Edited on 9-16-2017 by SFandH]
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gsbotanico
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I find the Mexican websites tend to be more accurate, as the one linked by SFandH.
Google "trafico de garitas" or "garita tecate tiempo de espera. You can put in the name of the crossing, as in the second example, or use plural as
in the first example to bring up more than one crossing. Some sites have tabs to toggle between different crossings. Be sure to pick a Spanish
language link from the Google results.
You will need some basic Spanish to read the websites. Spend some time to check the various websites for their accuracy and are suitable to your
needs.
I rely on my experience and have Sentri. No Sentri at Tecate. If I'm in the Tecate area, I don't find it worthwhile to drive to Otay from Tecate for
a shorter line. If I'm further south, I go to San Ysidro or Otay and use Sentri. Both will always be faster with Sentri than Tecate at busy times.
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Howard
Super Nomad
Posts: 2353
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Location: Loreto/Manhattan Beach/Kona
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Mood: I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.
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Thank you for all replies.
My car that I used exclusively in Baja had South Dakota plates and now that it is primarily used in California, I am switching back to California
plates. I have a temporary permit now and the moment I get the real plates with the license plate #, I will apply for the Global Pass with that car.
It's free to register a car when you apply but they charge around $45 for adding a car later.
Thanks again,
Howard
We don't stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing
George Bernard Shaw
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Alm
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Can't figure out how to read it. Right now Sat 9.30am:
Gates: 25
Left:?? 30
Ready lane: 30
Sentri: 10
Peds: 0.
"gates" = regular gates?
What is "left"?
Peds line 0? Have never seen zero people there, even in Sentri, not to mention usual 20-30 minutes for regular peds (20-30 or more).
Sentri peds line can be under 5 minutes, no line outside, but there are always some inside the building, especially lately in the temporary old
Customs building.
They all get information from CBP - you approach the gate, they ask (sometimes) - How long did it take you, and you answer whatever it feels like
because you rarely clock it precisely.
[Edited on 9-16-2017 by Alm]
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SFandH
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http://wp.1045radiolatina.com/garitas/ - close the short video that starts up
"gates" is the total number of gates that are open, of any kind.
left (izquierda) means standard lanes; i.e., lanes that are not Ready nor Sentri lanes
the numbers are an estimate of the number of cars in each line
Ped lines inside the building can't be seen from the outside so those inside are not counted.
Radio Latina does not get data from CPB. I'm not sure how they get it but I would guess they have spotters, maybe webcams, at the border and make
their estimates the same way each time.
To use this website effectively you need to have enough experience with it and also cross the border frequently so you can translate the numbers into
wait times.
I figure 45 seconds per car for the standard lanes at San Ysidro. So if there are 100 cars per line, 100 * 3/4 of a minute = 75 minutes. Ready lanes
should move twice as fast per car (CPB stated goal). I don't bother looking at Sentri because I don't have a pass now.
Many times there will be more cars in the Ready lanes so their effectiveness is diminished. Plus I approach from the west so it can take 10 or 15
minutes longer to get to the Ready lanes because, at San Ysidro, you need to approach from the east to get to them.
[Edited on 9-16-2017 by SFandH]
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SFandH
Elite Nomad
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I've looked at both the gov websites and the Radio Latina website 1/2 hour before crossing the border many times and their data significantly differ
after I convert the Radio Latina data from the number of cars to wait time. Radio Latina is more accurate. The gov data may be a couple of hours old
and even if recent usually underestimates the wait.
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Alm
Ultra Nomad
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This could explain why Radio Latina is more accurate. The govt is slow.
The guess about Mex spotters estimating the waiting time... They might. Spotter at the end of the line could note some car and time, communicate this
info to another spotter near the gates, and then this second spotter would note the time of arrival, do some quick math and enter the result on his
tablet and smartphone... technically possible  ...
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SFandH
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 8-5-2011
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Quote: Originally posted by Alm  |
This could explain why Radio Latina is more accurate. The govt is slow.
The guess about Mex spotters estimating the waiting time... They might. Spotter at the end of the line could note some car and time, communicate this
info to another spotter near the gates, and then this second spotter would note the time of arrival, do some quick math and enter the result on his
tablet and smartphone... technically possible ... |
Radio Latina doesn't give you times. It gives you the number of cars in line. That's pretty easy to determine knowing where the end of the line is.
Set up some webcams on the surrounding buildings and look.
After a while you get a feel for how to translate the number of cars to wait times. My experience is 45 seconds per car, regular lanes.
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Howard
Super Nomad
Posts: 2353
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Location: Loreto/Manhattan Beach/Kona
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Mood: I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.
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So...
I am on the 104.5 web site now and it shows
24 puertas
30 Izqueierdo
220 Ready lane
90 Sentri
So what you are saying if I read this correctly according to them there is 30 cars in the normal lanes and 90 in the Sentri and 220 cars in the ready
lane?
We don't stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing
George Bernard Shaw
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SFandH
Elite Nomad
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Yup and that's a very unusual situation. I bet the regular lines are the quickest, like I said unusual. They might have closed down some of the lanes
that they use for Ready and Sentri for some reason.
Things always change but they have been keeping the number of standard lanes constant and adjusting the number of Ready lanes depending upon how busy
Sentri is. Many times in the early morning rush hour the Ready lanes will have twice as many cars as the regular lanes because of high Sentri volume
and once Sentri slows down they'll give Ready more lanes and Sentri less and the situation quickly changes.
But generally, it is as it should be: Sentri FAST, Standard SLOW, and Ready somewhere in the middle.
[Edited on 9-16-2017 by SFandH]
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Howard
Super Nomad
Posts: 2353
Registered: 11-13-2007
Location: Loreto/Manhattan Beach/Kona
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Mood: I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.
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Thanks
We don't stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing
George Bernard Shaw
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SFandH
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 8-5-2011
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Things just changed. Sentri is way down and Ready is up. They must have decreased Ready lanes and increased Sentri lanes. They can do that because of
the way they have things laid out. They can't decrease the number of Standard lanes except in the wee hours because to take one away when there are
cars in it and tell people to merge into the next lane would cause chaos.
[Edited on 9-16-2017 by SFandH]
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AKgringo
Elite Nomad
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I don't use sentry for my infrequent crossings, but I imagine that an unexpected enforcement activity could jam things up in a hurry! Does it happen
that way sometimes?
[Edited on 9-16-2017 by AKgringo]
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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SFandH
Elite Nomad
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One time I was 3 or so cars from the booth and they busted the folks at the booth. About a 20-minute delay. Several agents taking, inspecting the car,
3 people handcuffed and escorted away. I don't remember if they drove the car out or pushed it. It was years ago.
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sancho
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2524
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Just now did a quick calculation using your 45 sec. per car for
the reg car lanes, compared it to the CBP crossing time site,
the radio site came in at 49.75 min. for the crossing time,
the CBP site has 50 min., so they agree, don't know exactly how that translates to real time accuracy. I too have
been asked walking back by CBP as how long it took
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