The idea is to help speed travel between Canada and the United States, which sees almost $2.5 billion worth of two-way trade daily, plus more than 400,000 travellers.
Radio-frequency technology to speed travellers at Ambassador Bridge
Craig Pearson
Traffic backs up entering Canada across the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit on July 24, 2015.
Travellers with high-tech identification should now be able to cross the Ambassador Bridge into Canada with greater ease.
The Canada Border Services Agency announced the introduction of radio frequency identification (RFID), now working at select land ports of entry in Canada, including the Ambassador Bridge.
The idea is to help speed travel between Canada and the United States, which sees almost $2.5 billion worth of two-way trade daily, plus more than 400,000 travellers.
“Adding radio frequency identification technology to the CBSA’s suite of tools will help streamline traveller processing and improve border security measures,” Ralph Goodale, minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, said in a news release. “It is yet another way in which we are making use of technology to help border services officers ensure the border is efficient and secure.”
RFID lanes have a special reader to capture tag numbers in certain travel documents, such as: electronic Canadian permanent resident cards; enhanced drivers’ licences from Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia; enhanced ID cards from Manitoba and B.C.; and NEXUS/FAST cards.
The Canada Border Services Agency announced the introduction of radio frequency identification (RFID), now working at select land ports of entry in Canada, including the Ambassador Bridge.
The readers read these documents as vehicles approach the booth, allowing officers to check information and assess for risk — without having to manually input information.
Two RFID lanes have been equipped at the Ambassador Bridge, as well as the Peace Bridge (Fort Erie), Queenston Bridge (Niagara), Rainbow Bridge (Niagara), and Thousand Island Bridge (Lansdowne), in British Columbia at the Douglas, Pacific Highway and Aldergrove crossings and in Manitoba at the Emerson border crossing.
In the coming months, the CBSA will also be able to read certain RFID-enabled travel documents from the United States, aligning Canada with technology already in use by American border officers.
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