11 February 2005

Windsor and Port Huron FAST Driver Enrollment Centres to Increase Hours effective February 14th

The following news release is from the Ontario Trucking Association.

OTA is pleased with news it received … from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that effective Monday February 14, 2005 the FAST driver enrollment centre hours in Windsor and Port Huron will be expanded to accommodate more drivers. The extended hours are in response to CBP’s Trade Act requirement for all drivers moving BRASS loads to be in possession of a FAST card by May 1, 2005 or risk being returned to Canada. The concept of extending enrollment centre hours to deal with the backlog of drivers awaiting FAST interviews was a key point….

Senior CBP staff at the Port of Detroit advised OTA that they believe that the May 1, 2005 deadline will be a hard date for drivers moving BRASS loads to be participants in the FAST driver program. Carriers are encouraged to notify their drivers of these changes and to ensure those that have not come in for an interview to do so as soon as possible. Also those drivers that have not applied for the program are encouraged to so as well.

The new enrollment centre hours are as follows:

Windsor FAST Driver Enrollment Centre
4285 Industrial Drive
Windsor, Ontario
(519) 967-4052
New Hours: Monday to Friday 8 am to 8 pm, Saturday 10 am to 6 pm

Port Huron FAST Driver Enrollment Centre
US Customs and Border Protection
Truck Cargo Inspection Facility, 2nd Floor
2321 Pine Grove Avenue
Port Huron, Michigan
(810) 985-9541 ext. 261
New Hours: Monday to Friday 8 am to 8 pm, Saturday 8 am to 4 pm

Carriers with groups of 20 or more drivers are also encouraged to contact either of the enrollment centres listed above to see what options are available for group bookings.