Border wait times aren’t pulled out of thin air, Transportation Ministry says

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Driving to the United States is a game of hurry up and wait, and border wait times on the radio or signs can be helpful when deciding which crossing to use.

But how are those wait times calculated?

The short answer: a lot of technology in the road surface under your wheels sending information to nearby computers.

The long answer comes to us by way of the Ministry of Transportation, who say the four major crossings are covered by the “Advanced Traveler Information System,” or ATIS.

Ground loops are installed in the road, and they’re not unlike what’s used to figure out if cars are waiting at an intersection.

These ground loops don’t stop at the actual border, but continue all the way to the checkpoint.

Nearby server software uses the loops to take into account how fast vehicles are moving and just how many are in line.

All that data is crunched, and the wait time is sent to the 4 large border wait signs around the region and the DriveBC website.

This information is the basis for border reports on NEWS 1130, and can be augmented with a look at the cameras as well.

A similar system is used by the Washington State Department of Transportation, who determine wait times back into Canada.

But there are many variables that can impact your wait time, like how many lanes are open and just how long agents spend with each vehicle as it crosses.

For up to the minute traffic updates, you can follow us on Twitter @NEWS1130Traffic or subscribe to breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox. You can also listen live to traffic reports every 10 minutes on the ones.

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