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MEXICO

Bike lane has changed for the worse and longer wait times at the border
Milkster 25331 reads
posted

The pedestrian line has not gotten any better and to me is just getting worse.

The wait times can vary and has many different factors -- how many customs agents are working, how fast they are, if a few are being too critical and how many buses are waiting in line.

The bike lane has gotten totally ridiculous it used to be you could go to any car lane and go right through. Then they switched it to the far right 2 lanes then the bus lane which was the best -- zero time wait!
Now they implemented a new rule which only allows a few bikes through at a time for every hundred or so pedestrians.
2 weeks ago I rented a bike for 5 bucks and waited in line for 45 minutes and the ped wait was around 40 mins so I paid 5 bucks to lug around a broken bike.

A few days ago my friend waited nearly 1 hr when the ped wait was around 40 mins.

Its very hard to predict the waiting times on any given day.
On time I thought I would wait 1 hr I only waited 5 minutes on other days when I thought it would be 5 mins I waited 1 hr.

The worst days are Sat thru Mondays but then again I went into the lane on Wed around 930 am and the line was all the way backed up past the last store and over the bridge it was crazy. So I hopped on a bus and paid 1 dollar and waited 40 mins.

Evening and late night times vary also but can be a lot lighter than the days and don't forget about the dumb gringo drunks kids at around 1 am thru 3 am Friday thru Sundays.

It seems that the Customs agents have catered to the car lanes and the wait times havent changed there it has always been a mess but the pedestrian lanes have gone through multiple changes and all for the worse. You get more scrutinized walking through than driving through. Sometimes while driving they just wave you through and look at you while walking you are asked 23 questions. Something is wrong here !

Rule of middle finger plan to spend around 30 mins in line. Sometimes it will be shorter and sometimes longer. You can always hit the Otay Mesa border for a zero wait time but then again there is no parking and you will need to take a bus back to San Ysidro if your car is parked there.
Good Luck
Milkman



burt202020280 reads

Had the same problem last time in rented a bike.  I was hoping it just the "rent a cop" was having a bad hair day.  Sorry to hear we are going to have to live with it.  I try to cross early evenings (7-9pm) as I find the line short.  Do they still have a decicated line for bus riders?  If so, does anyone know where to catch it, the hours of operation, etc.  Or are buses now a waste of time as well?


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Milkster21789 reads

Hi Burt

You can catch the Mexicoach buses at their bus station on Rev and 7th for 1 dollar.
yes they still have a dedicated bus lane - its where you see all the buses go :)
During the day in the Am you can walk up away from the pedestrian lane near the little area where the cabs drop you off and wait for the volate (sp) buses and board them for 1 dollar.
They will also let you on as they get closer to the border.  
The Mexicoach buses sometimes let you on when they get into the bus lane and sometimes no.
Most of the older stlye buses will let you on for 1 buck.

depending on the time of day this can be faster and a better way to go than the bikes.

take care
Milkman

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aspuser22630 reads

The pedestrian line was about 20 minutes to get all the way through but the bikes were through in about 5 minutes.  

Guess it all depends on whether or not there is enough pedestrians to hold back the bikes.  

I once understood that they allow ten bikes per 100 people but it seems like they have raised it to 300 now from what everyone is reporting.

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burt202027524 reads

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