OTTAWA — A potential cross-border clearance mess has been averted just days before a new massive, U.S. security policy takes effect.

The introduction of a new generation FAST card, coinciding with the June 1 rollout of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) ID rules, had some in the trucking industry predicting trucker backlogs at Canada-U.S. land ports.

But fear not, if there are significant border delays next week, it’ll be because some truckers and travelers will be without mandatory passport or enhanced drivers’ licence credentials; and not due to what appeared to be a possible FAST card mix-up. 

Thanks to CTA, US Customs will allow both
old and new FAST cards on June 1

Part of the problem is that US Customs was not set up to accept older FAST cards. Only new, Generation 2 FAST cards — most of which have not yet been mailed to drivers — have the RFID technology that is compatible with the ID readers at ports of entry.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials met with members of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, todaystrucking.com has learned, and were assured that original FAST cards, as well as Gen 2 FAST cards, will be acceptable identification documents for crossing the border on June 1.

"CBP issued directives to their field staff on the front line so there would be no confusion," Ron Lennox, vice-president of the CTA, tells us. "However, you must use the Generation 2 card if you’ve received it because that’s what they have in the system."

Got that? You’ll still be waved through with a first-generation FAST card, but only if you haven’t received the new one yet.

The new FAST cards are being mailed to all current FAST members, and cardholders are reminded to activate the new cards right away, so service is not interrupted.

Not that most truckers need reminding at this point, but for the not-so-frequent haulers, WHTI requires anybody entering the U.S. by land or sea to have documents proving their citizenship as of June 1. Approved travel documents include a passport, enhanced driver’s licence or ID card where available, and the FAST card. (Click here for more on compliance.)