Who makes this
By Alan Scott · Who makes this · Tijuana, Baja California ·
My name is Alan Scott and I'm from Tijuana, Baja California.
BuenCruce wasn't built by a company in another city looking at a spreadsheet from far away. It's built by someone who sits in that line too.
Why I started this
I've spent six hours in the San Ysidro line. I've bought churros from the guy with the umbrella. And I've also turned around and driven home because I just couldn't get through.
The reason this site exists is one thing that happened to me over and over:
I'd open an app, it told me 40 minutes, and it took two hours.
It's not that the apps lie on purpose. It's that they show you a number without telling you when it's from, and the official source only publishes once an hour. So everyone's number can be up to an hour old — mine included.
The difference is that here we tell you.
How I get the numbers — nothing hidden
Everything I publish comes from public sources you can check yourself:
| Source | What |
|---|---|
U.S. Customs and Border Protection · bwt.cbp.gov | Current wait times. They publish once an hour, on the hour — I counted it across the 85 crossings they report |
| SANDAG · open data | The history. 1,266 days, January 29, 2023 to August 8, 2026 |
And every article has its method written into it: what I compared, against what, and why that comparison and not another. It isn't buried in fine print — it's in the article, because it's half the value.
🔴 I use AI to analyze the data, and I'm saying so
I'm not going to hide it: the statistical analysis is done with AI assistance, on public data anyone can download and verify.
What that means in practice:
- The data isn't generated by AI. It's CBP's and SANDAG's, cited with the link
- The methods are written in every article, so you can redo the math if you want
- The decisions are mine. What we publish, what we don't, and what we don't know
- And the line experience is mine. No AI has ever spent six hours at San Ysidro
I'm saying it because I'd rather you hear it from me than suspect it. And because a tool used in the open is a different thing from one that's hidden.
What I do NOT know, and won't pretend to
This is the part almost nobody writes, and it's the part I care about most:
| I don't know | Why |
|---|---|
| 🔴 What time the border is shortest | The public historical data is full-day averages. There are no hours inside it. I'm saving the number every 5 minutes so I can answer it someday — and when I can, it'll be here |
| 🔴 Southbound wait times | There's no official source for waits into Tijuana. I'm not going to invent one |
| Why 2026 is worse than 2025 | I measured that it is. Not why. I won't speculate about staffing or policy with data that can't support it |
| What happened on March 24, 2023, when the wait hit 195 minutes on an ordinary Friday | Probably a closure or a special operation. I don't know, and I won't fill it in |
Mistakes I've already made
They're published, with dates, on the accuracy page.
The first two were from this week: I generalized a rule from a single case, and a test of mine was built wrong and I threw it out — even though it had never been published.
That list only grows. It doesn't get edited or deleted.
What you can expect from me
- No number without its timestamp and its source
- When we don't know, we say so. There is not one invented number on this site
- When we're wrong, it gets published. With a date, and it doesn't come down later
- And when the data no longer represents right now, the number dims and the traffic light goes quiet — even if the screen looks less impressive
How is this paid for?
BuenCruce is free, and it's staying free. It runs on ads and sponsorships from local businesses, and on donations if anyone feels like it. You will never be charged to check the line.
How to reach me
hola@buencruce.com · or through the suggestion box, which asks for no signup and no email.
If you find a mistake of mine, tell me. If you're right, it goes on the accuracy page — with credit if you want it.
BuenCruce is not affiliated with CBP or SANDAG. I use their public data and cite it.