In The News
TWIC enrollment centers now open nationwide
The number of truck drivers enrolling in the Transportation Worker Identification Credential remains low, although TWIC applicants now have nearly 150 enrollment centers to choose from.
The Transportation Security Administration announced last week that the 149th and final TWIC enrollment center was open and ready for worker registration.
“The (opening) up of every enrollment center is a testament to the progress of this important security program,†said Maurine Fanguy, TWIC program director for TSA. “We encourage workers to visit one of these sites as soon as possible to ensure their cards are in-hand in the coming months.â€
The TWIC program will require more than 1.5 million truckers, port employees, longshoremen, mariners and others who require unescorted access to secure areas of ports to have background checks before being issued cards with their biometric data and residency documentation.
Nationally, TWIC cards will be required for truckers and other port workers who need unescorted access into secure areas by April 15, 2009, although New England ports plan to require TWIC cards by Oct. 15 this year.
Eventually, TWIC cards could be an accepted standard for truckers to get into warehouses and trucking yards inland.
Standard TWIC enrollment costs $132.50. Workers with “current, comparable†threat assessment background checks associated with programs such as hazmat endorsements, the Merchant Mariner Document, or the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) card may obtain a TWIC card for a reduced rate of $105.25. The card is designed to last five years.
Replacement cards for those who lose or damage their TWIC card cost $60, according to the TWIC Web site at www.tsa.gov/twic.
Anyone can pre-enroll for TWIC to save time spent waiting at enrollment centers.
As of Sept. 17, an estimated 67,000 truck and drayage drivers had enrolled with TWIC, among 500,000 total workers enrolled.