One report, and the column behind you already knows

Anyone driving to Greece this summer knows the one unknown waiting for you at departure: how long the border will take. On the Greece guide on metla.mk that unknown is now solved by the drivers themselves. Next to the live cameras from Bogorodica, Medzitlija and Dojran we have added a button that lets you report, in five seconds, how long the wait is right where you are, and in which direction - towards Greece or back home.

How it works

You pick a border crossing, pick a direction and tap the wait: no wait, fifteen minutes, half an hour, an hour, two or three hours plus. No typing, no sign-up, no personal data. Your report shows up live, straight away, for the drivers opening the guide behind you - a yellow marker next to the green official estimate, so they get both sides of the same story before they set off.

The first reports are already coming in

The system has only just gone live, and the first reports from real drivers are already here. The more people report, the clearer the picture gets - when the crossings are calmest and when they are busiest, both heading to Greece and on the way back. This is not official statistics; it is something simpler and more honest: drivers helping each other, in real time.

Why we bother with this at all

Because the queue at the border is one of the few things official estimates never catch in time - and an hour's difference in when you leave can mean three hours' difference in the line. If we all wait for someone else to tell us how long it is, nobody knows. If everyone reports as they cross, everybody knows. It is that simple.

Next time you cross the border to Greece, report how long you waited. Not for us - for the ones coming after you. The full guide, with live cameras, prices, documents and a cost calculator, is on metla.mk.