The border Queue Management Service allows you to book a border crossing time in advance, even from the comfort of your couch

Vaalimaa border crossing point is testing a new booking service for passenger and freight traffic bound for Russia. This mandatory service for all drivers at Vaalimaa border crossing point, will be available in early December. More information on the service can be found at this site www.evpa.fi

From time to time, drivers heading into Russia still have to queue before the Vaalimaa border crossing point. The pilot project of the border traffic booking service is aimed at effective practices and operating models that will help drivers save time, as the booking can be made electronically and avoid any delays.

“The booking service is based on a simple operating model: Plan – book – drive: Plan a time for when you want to cross the border. Book a crossing time via the Internet, at a self-service terminal or via the Call Centre. Drive to the border at your border crossing time and wait for your turn,” says project manager Jyrki Järvinen from the ELY Centre of South-east Finland in summing it up.

The new booking service has won international awards

The booking service is being used to test how the booking service could reduce traffic at peak hours in the future. The long-term goal is to streamline traffic and increase road safety by easing traffic volumes. The future changes can be found at: www.evpa.fi.

The booking service to be introduced in Vaalimaa has won numerous international awards, including the World Summit Award in 2013, the Baltic Assembly Innovation Prize in 2013 and the Estonian Best e-service in the e-government category in 2013.

Part of the Finnish Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) strategy

The booking service will work only when crossing the border from Finland to Russia at the Vaalimaa border crossing point, and the service is free for users.

The border traffic booking service is part of the Finnish Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) strategy. The subscriber for the service is the ELY Centre of South-east Finland and the Finnish Transport Agency owns the database. GoSwift hosts the service. In addition, Customs, Border Guards and the Ministry of Transport and Communications are included in the pilot project. The project is also promoted in cooperation with the Russian border authorities.