INSIDE

NEXUS motors along

A little over two years since the lanes opened, the NEXUS commuter lane program is continuing to expand, both in scope and numbers. Canadian authorities have added new technology and extended open hours this summer, and U.S authorities have outlined an informal appeal process for those who have been denied membership or have had their privileges revoked.

Jerry Jensen, assistant port director for passenger operations at local ports, said membership has just passed the 40,000 mark and the enrollment center is adding an average of 575 new members monthly, with processing running from two to four weeks and less than one percent of applicants getting rejected.

The current wait for a NEXUS card is a far cry from the program's early days, when the processing center was churning through 250 applications a day and many members waited six months or more. “It’s cooled off quite a bit,” Jensen said, “but it’s been pretty constant since that intial onslaught.”

Jensen said he did not have a figure available on how many people have had their NEXUS privileges revoked. He did how-
ever say those who had lost their cards or had been denied one now had an informal appeal process available, which was not the case when the program started. “You can write a letter to the port director, it will be reviewed, researched and analyzed and a decision will be made,” he said. Correspondence to port director Margaret Fearon should be sent to the CPB Pacific Highway office.

When NEXUS started Canadian border authorities put off installing readers for the radio-tagged NEXUS cards that would trigger a database record on the inspector’s screen, but this summer the equipment went in at both the Pacific Highway and Douglas crossings. Hours were also expanded at the Peace Arch on the Canadian side, where the lane will now be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.