Better Border Crossing:

I’m back, with a better idea for crossing the border between the USA and Canada. We just spent a few days with friends in Montreal. We drove up the Northway and waited for an hour on long lines of cars, so that a customs official could interview us for two minutes and send us on our way. There has to be a better way, a way that would improve the crossing experience and bring additional revenue to both countries. And there is. I’m here to tell you about it.

Border crossings should be modeled on the way that the Six Flags Park in NJ gives people access to rides. When I arrived at Customs and saw all those cars waiting to cross, I should have been able to switch over to the “jumper” line. Cars in the jumper line are taken first – a great savings in time – but not everyone would get on the jumper line, because you would have to pay, say $35 for the privilege.

I think a lot of people would be willing to pay this fee to save forty minutes, especially when, like us, they are tired and eager to get where they are going. That’s why there would be another line, a very short one, for “jumper” jumpers. You would have to pay another $35 to get on this really short line that goes absolutely first. At eight P.M. on a rainy Sunday night, it would be worth it.