| Border Crossing
Habits of Abstract The Dedicated Commuter Lane (DCL) was first opened in the year of 1999 to expedite the cross-border traffic of commuters between the United States and Mexico’s manufacturing facilities. To determine the general demographics and the border crossing habits of DCL users a questionnaire was developed and a bilingual survey of El Paso, Texas residents and Juarez, Mexico residents was implemented. Respondents’ answers showed that some of the advantages of having the DCL include shorter lines and fewer inspections. On the other hand, some of the disadvantages include the hours of operation and the inability to carpool. Nationality of respondents was nearly equal between U.S., Mexico, and Dual citizenship status, although males were more likely to use the DCL than females. The socioeconomic status of the respondents’ households showed a positive relationship between greater numbers of DCL users and higher income levels; therefore, a positive relationship was also evident between a lesser amount of DCL users and lower income levels. An enormous amount of DCL users cross at the Lerdo/Stanton (downtown) bridge, with an overwhelming vote for the DCL to be provided at the Americas/Cordova (Puente Libre) bridge in the future. While most DCL users live in El Paso, the majority of them cross for work, followed by family, and then entertainment purposes. Respondents reported that the long lines – especially during 9/11 – are by far the worst problem they have encountered, although issues with vehicle inspections and rudeness of the authorities at the bridges followed closely after that.
INTRODUCTION
El Paso, Texas was one of the first points of entry to the United States to Utilize
non-intrusive inspection technologies at the border for DCL crossings.
These systems installed at the
ports of entry in 1998 have been critical in optimizing the area’s border crossing
traffic. After the terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001 people experienced the worst lines ever – lines with up to 3 hours
of wait time. The advantages of the DCL
include waiting times of only 10 to 30 minutes, although certain criteria and fees (per
every 1 year in Juarez, and per every 5 years in El Paso) have to be met in order to
qualify to use the DCL. The hours of
operation of this service (in El Paso) are Monday through Friday from 6:00AM to 10:00PM,
and Saturday and Sunday 10:00AM to 6:00PM. METHODRespondents The respondents for this study were people from Juarez, Mexico or El Paso, Texas, and some UTEP students that were involved in the use of the DCL program. Some of our respondents contacted us with other potential respondents, and so on, creating a snowball sample. The convenience sampling method was also utilized. The survey was a questionnaire designed to inquire about the demographics and border crossing habits of people who use the DCL. The survey consisted of 23 questions. This survey was available to participants in English and Spanish. The questionnaire was designed to answer personal questions such as gender, age, etc. It also asked why, when, where, what, and how respondents use the DCL program. Questions that were confusing or not necessary were either modified or removed once the questionnaire was pre-tested. Pilot results showed a mixture of answers within the data, and respondents’ names were kept confidential by keeping the consent forms separate from the questionnaires, with nothing to link them. The questionnaires did not request names in order to promote anonymity. Our group contacted 80 persons (10 respondents per person in the group) that are involved in the DCL program. We then asked the respondents which language they felt most comfortable with – either Spanish or English – then we gave them the corresponding questionnaire and had them fill it out. Group members paid attention in case the respondents needed help in a question. Every study has the purpose of answering questions that affect us socially, in one way or another. Our study focused on learning who the people are that use the DCL program. We know that it is mostly people that live on the border, but we were also interested on other factors such as income, which side of the border uses the DCL program the most and why. These questions do exactly that; they help us to better understand the different variables and factors that influence people that cross the U.S.-Mexico border to enroll and pay for the DCL program. The response questions (written in the form of hypotheses) of our study were:
In
our study we also covered a few other questions that we have results for. Some of these include how much people spent or
earned each day across the border, and gender differences between DCL users. Also asked was which DCL bridges are most often
crossed, as well as top choices for the location for a new DCL bridge in the future (where
users desire to cross if given a choice). Additionally,
we asked why DCL users may or do not use the DCL, and also about their worst experience at
the border crossing. RESULTSFor this survey we chose to ask the respondents an open-ended question so we could see how people label themselves regarding their ethnicity. (Table 1) Ethnic Labels DCL Users Chose to Describe Themselves
Table 1 Figure 1 shows the demographic characteristics of the sample by gender. There were 46 males represented in the survey sample, and 35 females.
Figure 1 Figure 2 shows another demographic characteristic of their nationality or citizenship, 26 participants reported to have dual citizenship, 27 were Mexicans, and 27 U.S citizens. As we can clearly see there was no significant difference.
Figure 2 Figure 3 shows the number of DCL users and their place of residence. 55 participants claimed to live in El Paso, Texas, and 27 lived in Juarez, Mexico and only one claimed to live in New Mexico. 2 people did not answer.
Figure 3 Figure 4 shows the income levels of DCL users. Households that make less than $15000/year are not as likely to use the DCL as people with higher incomes.
Figure 4
Figure 5 shows how many times and the reasons commuters cross the border. The leading answer given was to go to work and to visit their family. Among other reasons: entertainment, friends, to go to school, and very few for medical or shopping purposes.
Figure 5 Figure 6 shows that 67 commuters reported to use the Lerdo/Stanton (downtown) bridge more often than the Zaragosa Bridge (13 commuters).
Figure 6
Figure 7 shows that almost all of the participants of the sample (76 out of 79) wanted to have the DCL open at the Cordova-Americas bridge in the future. Compare this to the very few participants who wanted the DCL open at Fabens, or at Santa Teresa.
Figure 7 The ages of the DCL users varied greatly. The lowest age was 18 and the highest was 76. Below are the mean and the median of the ages (all 80 respondents) of the DCL users. (Table 2)
Table 2
The average DCL household had an average of 3.6 adults, and 0.7 children (under age 18). Each person who uses the DCL must have a separate/individual DCL permit. In the survey we asked respondents whether they felt it was fair that they had to avoid crossing the DCL for reasons such as scheduling problems, bringing item(s) across, having other people with them, etc. Their answers follow. (Table 3) Fair/Unfair to Have to Avoid DCL Due to
Certain Rules
Table 3 When people DON’T use the DCL the average time it takes is between 42 minutes to 1.1 hours (66 minutes). The final average for non-DCL bridge crossings is 54 minutes. Some more questions were asked regarding families/people who use the DCL. Please note that on some of the tables below that actual numbers of respondents who answered are used. People who did not answer (left it blank) or checked the N/A box are not included. (Tables 4-5) Number People per Family/Group Who Use
the DCL
Table 4 Number Vehicles per Family/Group of DCL
Users
Table 5 People who use the DCL said how much they earned and/or spent each day when they crossed the border (to either side). The frequency distribution is shown below. (Table 6)
Table 6 Some more questions were asked to respondents regarding the DCL; their results are below. (Tables 7-13) How People Feel About the Time it Takes
to do the DCL Paperwork AND How Much the U.S. is Charging Them
Table 7
How People Feel About the Time it Takes
to do the DCL Paperwork AND How Much Mexico is Charging Them
Table 8 Number of DCL Users’ General Experiences
Table 9
Number of DCL Users’ General Experiences
Table 10 Frequency of DCL Users’ Vehicles Inspected per Month
Table 11 Frequency DCL Users Have to Explain Thingsor Submit Additional Searches at
Customs
Table 12 DCL Users’ Impressions About the Inspectors at Customs
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