Fox Rent A Car is now taking reservations through its affiliate partner, Mex Rent-A-Car, at the new Cross Border Xpress (CBX) terminal at the U.S./Mexico border.

Located in San Diego’s Otay Mesa neighborhood, CBX features an enclosed pedestrian bridge straddling the border of the U.S. and Mexico. The facility is reserved exclusively for Tijuana Airport passengers to cross the border into the U.S. or Mexico.

Mex Rent-A-Car was the first car rental operator to take reservations when the facility opened on Dec. 9. Fox, through Mex Rent-A-Car, began taking reservations shortly before the new year. Avis, Dollar and Hertz are also expected to begin providing rental car services to CBX passengers in the next few months.

Each car rental company is given about 40 parking spaces. In addition to the rental counters, the terminal offers food and beverage and shopping options, as well as access to buses, shuttles, taxis and Uber.

“We are excited to add another Fox affiliate location in the U.S. and to be part of this unique venue,” said Jack Wetzel, director of Fox Affiliate Divisions. Wetzel added that the CBX facility represents Fox’s 87th affiliate location and its first non-airport specific location.

New Border Crossing

The 390-foot-long skywalk is the first to connect a facility in the U.S. directly into a foreign airport terminal, according to CBX press materials.

Tijuana Airport customers traveling to the U.S. will go through U.S. Customs at the CBX facility and through Mexican Customs if traveling into Mexico. Before the facility was built, airport customers would first have to cross the border at the Otay Mesa border crossing, a 15-minute drive from the airport. Waits at this border crossing sometimes take up to several hours.

“Using CBX is only about a 15- to 20-minute wait to get through customs and cross the border,” said Jordi Rivero, chief product officer at Mex Rent-A-Car.

“The CBX project was created to make the cross border between two countries more comfortable, fast and secure,” said Rivero. “For car rental, we are confident that it’s a great opportunity to approach a new market. Most of them will be crossing from Mexico to the U.S. and will be Spanish speakers. By being a Mexican company with experience in car rental, we know how those customers want to be treated.”

CBX was built by private developer Otay-Tijuana Ventures in cooperation with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. The facility is expected to serve the more than 2 million annual Tijuana passengers who cross the border, a CBX press release said.

Tijuana International Airport serves 34 Mexican destinations as well as Shanghai. Aeromexico is packaging flights with CBX tickets on its website. The crossing costs $18 each way.

“CBX will transform the border crossing experience for millions of travelers,” said Carlos Laviada, an investor in the project.