Gasoline is a necessary evil.  We all need to get from one place to another.  If you own a car and drive on a constant basis, those weekly fill ups at the gas station can be a very expensive proposition.

Where I live, British Columbia, Canada, gas prices are consistently hovering above $1.00 per liter.  Our Province incurs higher than normal prices than the rest of Canada.  And with warmer driving seasons a couple months away (give or take a couple terrorist attacks in the Middle East), we should come to expect higher oil costs in the near future.

I’m a frequent cross border shopper, especially since the Canada/USA border is only 10 minutes away from my house.  This luxury provides me an opportunity to fill up my gas tank in Blaine, Washington.  Since gas costs about 70 to 80 cents per liter in Blaine,  I can definitely save money by crossing into the U.S. on a weekly basis.  However, dealing with long line ups at the border and over zealous customs officers can be problematic.  Plus, I hate sitting in my car for an extended period of time.

To rid myself of these long waiting times, I joined NEXUS.  This program is for low-risk, pre-screened travelers who enter Canada and the USA on a frequent basis.  My participation allow me to quickly clear customs through use of a dedicated NEXUS lane.

Acceptance into the NEXUS program takes up to 6 weeks.  You need to be a citizen and permanent resident of Canada or the USA (for at least three years) with no criminal records.  To participate in the program, you must mail-in an application form with a processing fee for $80 Cdn or $50 US.  If you qualify, an appointment will be made with a customs officer, where he/she will review your application, verify your identity, finalize requirements for membership and take your fingerprints.  Once accepted into the program, the customs officer will take your picture and issue a NEXUS card, which is valid for five years. 

Border traffic does not bother me anymore.  Thanks to NEXUS, I can bypass traffic and clear Canada & U.S. customs in less than 1 minute.  If I have any goods to declare, I simply use a traveler’s declaration card and deposit it into a box in the NEXUS lane.  Any taxes or duties will be charged to my credit card at a future date.  Please remember, anyone who uses a NEXUS lane must be a card carrying member, including passengers as well.  This means EVERY SINGLE person in the car must have their own card.

If you’re sick of high gas prices and love to cross border shop, I definitely recommend a membership into Nexus.  With speedier processing and shorter waiting times, it remains a great investment for people who want to stretch their gas money into more affordable miles.

The NEXUS program is available for air, land and marine travellers.

To visit the NEXUS website, click here.