Faster travel between US and Mexico with new “bridge scanners”

With summer here, standing in line at the pedestrian bridge on the U.S. Mexican border can take a toll on your body.

 To help speed up the entry process at the crossing in Larado, Customs and Border Patrol are implementing new ready lane scanners to help alleviate pedestrian traffic flow.
 
“On a given year forty one million people enter the united states walking. Not in a car, not in a train, not on a plane.  So what we wanted to do is bring the technology to the pedestrians walkway to help expedite the pedestrians coming through,” said Acting Port Director Jose Uribe.
 
The new ready line cards have radio technology that — when used in a kiosk – enables the C.P.B. officer to check biographical information, including a photo and results for terrorist and criminal connections.
 
And while the new technology does not replace face to face interaction between officers and travelers, it allows C.P.B. to focus their time on each individual.
 
“We get a small window that helps us adjust the time on the processing here in Laredo, with over 3 million pedestrians a year those few seconds make are the difference,” Uribe said.
 
Although the pedestrians KGNS spoke to haven’t felt the speed of the pedestrian traffic change, they believe once officers and travelers get accustomed to the change time on the bridge will be cut.
 
“Well it’s a new system. In the beginning it’s slow, but it’s going to be much faster, said Jose Antunes in Spanish.
 
“Now it’s really slow, but later when they get the hang of it, it will be better,” Addie Mendieta said.
 
Laredo ”Bridge One” is one of the 12 busiest border crossings to use the new scanners, including cities like El Paso and San Diego.