Originally Posted by
JDiver
Good points.
I read the construction is privately funded as a profit-making enterprise, with the idea of charging a pedestrian toll and operating a for pay parking lot. The article states (in small part):
Their challenge is to set up a system that makes a profit without costing so much people just take the time to cross at Otay Mesa or San Ysidro.
As it is now, I pay $7 a day to park in Otay Mesa. The lot has a free shuttle to the border. If there are one or two of us, we use the free shuttle, then take a taxi on the Mexican side to TIJ for IIRC MX$150, so ~US$12, each way. If there are three or more of us, we spring for a $30 van that takes us all the way from the lot to TIJ. Either way, on the return we always take a taxi to "La Linea," walk across and call for the free shuttle to the lot.
The ideal trip is four of us with dive gear utilizing the van to get all the way to TIJ, splitting the van and taxi costs and parking. Comes to about US$25 each for parking and transportation both ways.
Yeah, the new system would need to be competitive to work for me. I might use it traveling solo or as a couple. I will certainly try it out once when it opens.