The City of El Paso has partnered with Metropia, Inc., and the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority (CRRMA) to launch a beta test of a new app designed to improve the border crossing experience for all travelers at El Paso-Juárez ports of entry.
The free Metropia app will provide border crossers with the best routes and ideal times to travel by tracking border wait times at the international ports of entry. The app was developed to empower users with information to improve their travel time across the border.
“We’re excited to deliver this new technology to the El Paso-Juárez border. The free Metropia app will help commuters, both traveling for leisure and commercial purposes, to reduce their wait times at the ports of entry. Beta testers through their use of the app will contribute border wait time data that will help us make improvements that will benefit the entire region,” said Mathew McElroy, City of El Paso International Bridges Department.
The Metropia app will go beyond providing users with current wait times and traffic congestion levels. By predicting and displaying how those conditions will change throughout the day, border crossers will be empowered to choose the ideal times to cross the border and guide them through the fastest port of entry along least-congested routes.
The ability to disburse the demand more evenly across six of the bridge crossings and at more varied times, will help Metropia and the City of El Paso reduce wait times and traffic conditions for all border crossers, not only those who utilize the app.
Those who sign up to become beta testers will get exclusive early access to this new technology and will be compensated each time they use the Metropia app to cross the border at the designated ports of entry. Compensation will be up to $10 per day. Data collected throughout the beta test will optimize the app’s predictive capabilities in preparation for a full launch this spring.
Motorists interested in becoming a Metropia port of entry beta tester should visit, www.metropia.com/POEbeta to enroll. Motorists are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible as space is limited for the number of beta testers who may receive monetary compensation.
Those who sign up for the beta testing program but are not selected to participate will still receive an exclusive invitation to use the app before it goes live next month.
“The increasing wait times across our border have a profound daily impact on our economy and the quality of life for the residents of El Paso and Juárez,” said Tania Chozet, Metropia’s community manager in El Paso. “Through this innovative partnership with the City of El Paso and the CRRMA, Metropia is eager to reduce wait times at the Port of Entry and increase access to both of these wonderful cities.”
The international bridges wait time feature is an extension of Metropia’s existing services in El Paso. Metropia officially launched in El Paso last October to provide city-wide travel options to motorists.
Since then, the company through its technology has helped thousands of El Paso’s commuters save nearly 2,000 hours of driving time and plant nearly 9,000 trees as part of their reforestation program with American Forests.
