PACE and CANPASS Pre-Approved Travel Promotion
For the 6,000 cross-border travelers who drive between the U.S. and Canada on Interstate 5 - B.C. Highway 99 every day, line-ups increased the personal cost of travel and compromise the social and economic benefits of inter-regional mobility.
The PACE (Peace Arch Crossing Entry) program for expedited border clearance of cross-border travelers was started by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in 1992, along with Canada Customs and Revenue Agency's (CCRA) analogous CANPASS program. These programs provided a dedicated commuter lane (DCL) for enrolled regular cross-border travelers.
These two programs were highly successful in both providing faster service to regular border commuters and providing inspection agencies an effective mechanism for focusing efforts away from low-risk traffic, better utilizing limited resources. CANPASS was free and PACE c
ost $25 a year to join.
In 2000, approximately 28 percent of the total volume of passenger vehicles crossing south at the Peace Arch port-of-entry used the PACE lane. If this percentage were to be increased to 45 percent of the total traffic volume, peak wait times could be reduced from one hour down to fifteen minutes.
This project completed in August, 2001 and was aimed at the promotion of these two programs to the traveling public.
Market research and surveys were completed, as well as reports detailing recommended operational improvements. The getPACE.com website started in 2000 and provided applications to each program. Advertising efforts included broad distribution of rack cards and regional newspaper ads and mailings.
The PACE and CANPASS programs were closed on September 11, 2001. They have been replaced with the joint U.S. - Canadian NEXUS program. Visit getNEXUS.com for more information.