sbc1-code · Oct 14, 2026 · Oct 14, 2026
@@ -1,5 +1,19 @@
 # CHANGELOG
 
+## 2026-10-14 — Walk-or-drive retrieval freshness (prepared)
+
+- Preserve the actual snapshot retrieval time and suppress walk/drive/tie advice
+  and recommendation badges for stale, missing, invalid or future timestamps.
+  Re-evaluate age while the page stays open, using the existing 45/90-minute
+  thresholds; failed refreshes retain the original timestamp.
+- Show retrieval age separately from raw CBP lane report clocks, including
+  unavailable-clock labels. Replace unconditional live/current decision wording
+  in the comparison and its metadata with reported-wait wording.
+- Add EN/ES desktop/mobile regression coverage for zero waits, expiry without a
+  new feed, offline refresh, recovery, future timestamps and report clocks.
+  Retain closure, pending-report and Back-navigation checks. No feed, threshold,
+  route-inventory, camera or ad changes; publication awaits independent review.
+
 ## 2026-10-13 — Camera coverage beyond El Paso (prepared)
 
 - Added a camera-area selector for all nine corridors. The camera area follows

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import fs from 'node:fs';
 // This fixture tests retained CBP lane values without hitting CBP or ad networks.
 export async function checkWalkDriveAvailability(page, context, baseUrl) {
   const snapshot = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(new URL('../public/data/crossings.json', import.meta.url)));
+  snapshot.fetched_at = new Date().toISOString();
   const crossing = snapshot.crossings.find(row => row.port_number === '250201');
   assert.ok(crossing, 'Andrade fixture must exist');
   crossing.hours = '6 am-10 pm';

@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import fs from 'node:fs';
+
+// Reuse the smoke context's external-request blocker; no CBP/ad traffic.
+export async function checkWalkDriveFreshness(context, baseUrl) {
+  const snapshot = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(new URL('../public/data/crossings.json', import.meta.url)));
+  const crossing = snapshot.crossings.find(row => row.port_number === '250201');
+  crossing.port_status = 'Open';
+  const lane = (delay_minutes, update_time) => ({ delay_minutes, status: 'delay', lanes_open: 1, update_time });
+  crossing.lanes = {
+    passenger_standard: lane(90, 'At Midnight PDT'),
+    passenger_ready: lane(15, 'At 1:00 am PST'),
+    pedestrian_standard: lane(0, 'At 11:00 pm MST'),
+    pedestrian_ready: lane(10, null),
+  };
+  const feedMatcher = url => ['/data/crossings.json', '/api/public/crossings'].includes(url.pathname);
+  let fail = false;
+  let requests = 0;
+  const feedHandler = route => {
+    requests++;
+    return fail ? route.fulfill({ status: 503, body: 'fixture unavailable' })
+      : route.fulfill({ contentType: 'application/json', body: JSON.stringify(snapshot) });
+  };
+  await context.route(feedMatcher, feedHandler);
+  const page = await context.newPage();
+  const now = Date.now();
+  await page.clock.install({ time: now });
+  try {
+    for (const lang of ['en', 'es']) {
+      await page.goto(baseUrl.href);
+      await page.evaluate(value => localStorage.setItem('borderPulse_language', value), lang);
+      await page.clock.setSystemTime(now);
+      fail = false;
+      snapshot.fetched_at = new Date(now - 90 * 60_000).toISOString();
+      await page.goto(new URL('/walk-or-drive/andrade/', baseUrl).href);
+      await page.getByText(lang === 'en' ? 'Recommended' : 'Recomendado', { exact: true }).waitFor();
+      let content = await page.locator('#root').innerText();
+      for (const text of ['0 min', 'At Midnight PDT', 'At 1:00 am PST', 'At 11:00 pm MST',
+        lang === 'en' ? 'CBP report time unavailable' : 'Hora del reporte CBP no disponible']) assert.ok(content.includes(text), text);
+      assert.ok(!/Right now|Ahora mismo|Live decision|Decisión en vivo/.test(content));
+      // No new feed is required to expire advice while the page remains open.
+      fail = true;
+      await page.clock.runFor(61_000);
+      await page.getByTestId('walk-drive-unavailable').waitFor();
+      content = await page.locator('#root').innerText();
+      assert.ok(!/Recommended|Recomendado|Walk\.|Camina\.|Drive\.|Maneja\.|It's a wash\.|Está parejo\./.test(content));
+      const previousLabel = await page.getByTestId('walk-drive-fetch-time').innerText();
+      const before = requests;
+      const refreshFailed = page.waitForEvent('console', {
+        predicate: message => message.text().includes('[dataService] fetch failed'),
+        timeout: 10_000,
+      });
+      await page.evaluate(() => window.dispatchEvent(new Event('online')));
+      await refreshFailed;
+      assert.ok(requests > before, 'online refresh attempted and failed');
+      assert.equal(await page.getByTestId('walk-drive-fetch-time').innerText(), previousLabel, 'failed refresh must not renew retrieval time');
+      assert.ok(await page.getByTestId('walk-drive-unavailable').isVisible());
+      // Recovery restores the recommendation using the new actual timestamp.
+      fail = false;
+      snapshot.fetched_at = new Date(now + 61_000).toISOString();
+      await page.evaluate(() => window.dispatchEvent(new Event('online')));
+      await page.getByText(lang === 'en' ? 'Recommended' : 'Recomendado', { exact: true }).waitFor();
+      // Upstream allows small clock skew, but the page must not recommend from it.
+      snapshot.fetched_at = new Date(now + 180_000).toISOString();
+      await page.reload();
+      await page.getByTestId('walk-drive-unavailable').waitFor();
+      assert.equal(await page.getByTestId('walk-drive-fetch-time').innerText(), lang === 'en' ? 'Fetch time unknown' : 'Hora de consulta desconocida');
+      assert.ok(await page.evaluate(() => document.documentElement.scrollWidth <= innerWidth + 1));
+    }
+  } finally {
+    await page.close();
+    await context.unroute(feedMatcher, feedHandler);
+  }
+  console.log('[walk-drive] PASS: EN/ES raw clocks, aging, expiry, failed refresh, recovery and future retrievals');
+}
@@ -781,8 +781,8 @@ async function main() {
   for (const c of crossings.filter(hasPedestrianLane)) {
     const slug = portToSlug[c.port_number];
     if (!slug) continue;
-    const title = `Walk or Drive Across ${c.name}? Live Wait Comparison (2026) | Border Pulse`;
-    const desc = `Compare live pedestrian and vehicle wait times at ${c.name} from CBP. See whether walking saves enough minutes to be worth parking.`;
+    const title = `Walk or Drive Across ${c.name}? CBP Wait Comparison | Border Pulse`;
+    const desc = `Compare reported pedestrian and vehicle wait times at ${c.name} from CBP. See whether walking saves enough minutes to be worth parking.`;
     const canonical = `${BASE}/walk-or-drive/${slug}/`;
     const ogImage = `${BASE}/og/${slug}.png`;
     const breadcrumb = {

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { chromium } from 'playwright-core';
 import { checkGrowthInteractions } from './check-growth-interactions.mjs';
 import { checkLocalCrossings } from './check-local-crossings.mjs';
 import { checkNoJsReports } from './check-nojs-reports.mjs';
+import { checkWalkDriveFreshness } from './check-walk-drive-freshness.mjs';
 import { checkWalkDriveAvailability } from './check-walk-drive-availability.mjs';
 import { checkComparisonGuide } from './check-comparison-guide.mjs';
 import { checkReportTimes } from './check-report-times.mjs';
@@ -322,6 +323,7 @@ async function runProfile(browser, profile, manifest, expectedCrossingCount) {
     await checkGrowthInteractions(page, context, baseUrl);
     await checkLocalCrossings(page, context, baseUrl);
     await checkWalkDriveAvailability(page, context, baseUrl);
+    await checkWalkDriveFreshness(context, baseUrl);
     await checkComparisonGuide(page, context, baseUrl);
   } catch (error) {
     failures.push(`${profile.name} growth interactions: ${error.stack || error.message}`);

@@ -166,3 +166,17 @@ test('walk-or-drive requires a usable lane report rather than an old numeric val
   assert.equal(wait(null), null);
   assert.equal(wait({ status: ' No Delay ', delay_minutes: 0, lanes_open: 1 }), 0);
 });
+
+// Walk/drive uses the same measured thresholds without treating clock skew as fresh.
+test('walk-drive retrieval gate handles fresh, aging, stale and inconsistent clocks', async () => {
+  const { walkDriveFreshness } = await import('../src/lib/walkDriveFreshness.js');
+  for (const minutes of [0, 45, 46, 90]) {
+    assert.equal(walkDriveFreshness(minutesAgo(minutes), NOW).usable, true);
+  }
+  for (const stamp of [minutesAgo(91), null, undefined, '', 'invalid', 0, {}, minutesAgo(-1)]) {
+    assert.equal(walkDriveFreshness(stamp, NOW).usable, false);
+  }
+  const stamp = minutesAgo(90);
+  assert.equal(walkDriveFreshness(stamp, NOW + 60_000).state, FRESHNESS.STALE);
+  assert.equal(walkDriveFreshness(stamp, NOW + 60_000).usable, false);
+});
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+import { freshnessOf, FRESHNESS } from './trustState.js';
+
+// Retrieval freshness is separate from CBP's clock-only lane report times.
+// Missing, malformed and future retrievals cannot support a recommendation.
+export function walkDriveFreshness(fetchedAt, now = Date.now()) {
+  const freshness = typeof fetchedAt === 'string' && Date.parse(fetchedAt) <= now
+    ? freshnessOf(fetchedAt, now)
+    : { state: FRESHNESS.UNKNOWN, age: null };
+  return {
+    ...freshness,
+    usable: [FRESHNESS.FRESH, FRESHNESS.AGING].includes(freshness.state),
+  };
+}
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ import { buildSlugMap } from '@/lib/slugs';
 import { updatePageMeta, resetPageMeta } from '@/lib/seo';
 import { usePersistentLanguage } from '@/lib/useLanguage';
 import { availableLaneWait } from '@/lib/crossingAvailability';
+import { fetchLabel, reportTimeLabel } from '@/lib/trustState';
+import { walkDriveFreshness } from '@/lib/walkDriveFreshness';
 import { getPortStatus } from '@/components/utils/crossingMeta';
 
 // Time it typically takes to park, walk the bridge, and reach a rideshare /
@@ -22,7 +24,7 @@ const FOOT_OVERHEAD_MIN = 20;
 // dominates the wait-time savings.
 const RECOMMEND_GAP_MIN = 15;
 
-function PanelCard({ icon: Icon, title, wait, sub, lang, recommendedLabel }) {
+function PanelCard({ icon: Icon, title, wait, sub, reportTime, lang, recommendedLabel }) {
   return (
     <Card className={`h-full ${recommendedLabel ? 'border-emerald-400 dark:border-emerald-700 ring-1 ring-emerald-400 dark:ring-emerald-700' : ''}`}>
       <CardContent className="p-4 sm:p-5">
@@ -41,6 +43,7 @@ function PanelCard({ icon: Icon, title, wait, sub, lang, recommendedLabel }) {
           {wait == null ? '—' : `${wait} min`}
         </div>
         <p className="mt-1 text-xs text-slate-600 dark:text-slate-300">{sub}</p>
+        <p className="mt-1 break-words text-xs text-slate-500 dark:text-slate-400">{reportTimeLabel(reportTime, lang)}</p>
       </CardContent>
     </Card>
   );
@@ -49,11 +52,22 @@ function PanelCard({ icon: Icon, title, wait, sub, lang, recommendedLabel }) {
 export default function WalkOrDrive() {
   const { slug } = useParams();
   const language = usePersistentLanguage();
-  const [state, setState] = useState({ crossings: [], isLoading: true });
+  const [state, setState] = useState({ crossings: [], fetchedAt: null, isLoading: true });
+
+  const [now, setNow] = useState(Date.now());
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const timer = setInterval(() => setNow(Date.now()), 60_000);
+    return () => clearInterval(timer);
+  }, []);
+
+  const freshness = walkDriveFreshness(state.fetchedAt, now);
+  const usableSnapshot = freshness.usable;
+  const retrievalLabel = fetchLabel(freshness.state, freshness.age, language);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     return subscribeToBorderData(data => {
-      setState({ crossings: data.crossings || [], isLoading: false });
+      setState({ crossings: data.crossings || [], fetchedAt: data.timestamp, isLoading: false });
+      setNow(Date.now());
     });
   }, []);
 
@@ -84,7 +98,7 @@ export default function WalkOrDrive() {
   // against best foot option PLUS the foot overhead. Walking only wins if the
   // adjusted foot total still beats the vehicle by more than the threshold.
   const recommendation = useMemo(() => {
-    if (veh == null || bestFootWait == null) return null;
+    if (!usableSnapshot || veh == null || bestFootWait == null) return null;
     const footTotal = bestFootWait.minutes + FOOT_OVERHEAD_MIN;
     const gap = veh - footTotal;
     if (gap >= RECOMMEND_GAP_MIN) {
@@ -104,16 +118,16 @@ export default function WalkOrDrive() {
       };
     }
     return { verdict: 'wash', gap, footTotal, via: bestFootWait.via };
-  }, [veh, bestFootWait]);
+  }, [veh, bestFootWait, usableSnapshot]);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!crossing || !canonicalSlug) return;
     const title = language === 'en'
-      ? `Walk or drive across ${crossing.name}? Live decision based on CBP data | Border Pulse`
-      : `¿Cruzar a pie o en auto en ${crossing.name}? Decisión en vivo con datos de CBP | Border Pulse`;
+      ? `Walk or drive across ${crossing.name}? CBP wait comparison | Border Pulse`
+      : `¿Cruzar a pie o en auto en ${crossing.name}? Comparación de esperas de CBP | Border Pulse`;
     const desc = language === 'en'
-      ? `Compare live pedestrian and vehicle wait times at ${crossing.name} from CBP. See whether walking saves enough minutes to be worth parking.`
-      : `Compara tiempos en vivo a pie y en vehículo en ${crossing.name} con datos de CBP. Ve si caminar te ahorra suficiente tiempo para que valga estacionar.`;
+      ? `Compare reported pedestrian and vehicle wait times at ${crossing.name} from CBP. See whether walking saves enough minutes to be worth parking.`
+      : `Compara tiempos reportados a pie y en vehículo en ${crossing.name} con datos de CBP. Ve si caminar te ahorra suficiente tiempo para que valga estacionar.`;
     const url = `https://borderpulse.com/walk-or-drive/${canonicalSlug}/`;
     updatePageMeta({ title, description: desc, ogTitle: title, ogDescription: desc, ogUrl: url, canonical: url });
     return () => resetPageMeta();
@@ -137,7 +151,7 @@ export default function WalkOrDrive() {
         </div>
         <h1 className="text-2xl sm:text-3xl font-bold text-slate-900 dark:text-white mb-3">
           {closed
-            ? (language === 'en' ? `${crossing.name}: closed now` : `${crossing.name}: cerrado ahora`)
+            ? (language === 'en' ? `${crossing.name}: ${usableSnapshot ? 'closed now' : 'reported closed'}` : `${crossing.name}: ${usableSnapshot ? 'cerrado ahora' : 'reportado cerrado'}`)
             : (language === 'en' ? `${crossing.name}: no current pedestrian wait reported` : `${crossing.name}: sin espera peatonal actual reportada`)}
         </h1>
         <p className="text-sm text-slate-700 dark:text-slate-300 mb-4">
@@ -149,6 +163,7 @@ export default function WalkOrDrive() {
               ? `CBP has no current pedestrian wait report for ${crossing.name}, so a walk-vs-drive recommendation is unavailable. A missing report does not mean zero wait or prove that there is no pedestrian lane.`
               : `CBP no tiene un reporte actual de espera peatonal para ${crossing.name}, así que no hay recomendación entre caminar o manejar. La falta de un reporte no significa espera cero ni demuestra que no haya carril peatonal.`)}
         </p>
+        <p className="mb-4 text-xs text-slate-500 dark:text-slate-400" data-testid="walk-drive-fetch-time">{retrievalLabel}</p>
         {closed && crossing.hours && (
           <p className="mb-4 text-sm text-slate-700 dark:text-slate-300">
             {language === 'en' ? 'Posted CBP hours: ' : 'Horario publicado por CBP: '}{crossing.hours}
@@ -185,11 +200,19 @@ export default function WalkOrDrive() {
         <p className="text-xs sm:text-sm text-slate-500 mt-1 inline-flex items-center gap-1.5">
           <Clock className="w-3.5 h-3.5" />
           {language === 'en'
-            ? `Live wait times from CBP, plus ${FOOT_OVERHEAD_MIN} min added to the foot total to cover parking and walking the bridge. Northbound only.`
-            : `Tiempos en vivo de CBP, más ${FOOT_OVERHEAD_MIN} min al total a pie para cubrir estacionar y cruzar el puente. Solo hacia EE.UU.`}
+            ? `Reported wait times from CBP, plus ${FOOT_OVERHEAD_MIN} min added to the foot total to cover parking and walking the bridge. Northbound only.`
+            : `Tiempos reportados por CBP, más ${FOOT_OVERHEAD_MIN} min al total a pie para cubrir estacionar y cruzar el puente. Solo hacia EE.UU.`}
         </p>
+        <p className="mt-2 text-xs text-slate-500 dark:text-slate-400" data-testid="walk-drive-fetch-time">{retrievalLabel}</p>
+        <p className="mt-1 text-xs text-slate-500 dark:text-slate-400">{language === 'en'
+          ? 'Lane report times may differ. A recent fetch does not establish how recent each CBP report is.'
+          : 'Las horas de reporte pueden variar por carril. Una consulta reciente no confirma la antigüedad de cada reporte de CBP.'}</p>
       </header>
 
+      {!usableSnapshot && <p className="mb-4 rounded-lg border border-slate-300 p-4 text-sm dark:border-gray-700" data-testid="walk-drive-unavailable">{language === 'en'
+        ? 'Walk-or-drive recommendation unavailable: the snapshot is stale or its fetch time cannot be verified. These are retained reports; check CBP before leaving.'
+        : 'Recomendación entre caminar o manejar no disponible: la consulta está desactualizada o no se puede verificar su hora. Estos son reportes guardados; consulta CBP antes de salir.'}</p>}
+
       {recommendation && (
         <div className={`mb-4 rounded-lg border px-4 py-3 ${
           recommendation.verdict === 'walk'
@@ -203,7 +226,7 @@ export default function WalkOrDrive() {
               : recommendation.verdict === 'drive' ? 'text-sky-800 dark:text-sky-300'
               : 'text-slate-600 dark:text-slate-400'
           }`}>
-            {language === 'en' ? 'Right now' : 'Ahora mismo'}
+            {language === 'en' ? 'Based on reported waits' : 'Según las esperas reportadas'}
           </div>
           <p className="text-sm text-slate-900 dark:text-white">
             {(() => {
@@ -233,8 +256,9 @@ export default function WalkOrDrive() {
           icon={Car}
           title={language === 'en' ? 'Drive (standard)' : 'En auto (estándar)'}
           wait={veh}
+          reportTime={crossing.lanes?.passenger_standard?.update_time}
           sub={vehReady != null
-            ? (language === 'en' ? `Ready Lane: ${vehReady} min · SENTRI: ${vehSentri ?? '—'} min` : `Ready Lane: ${vehReady} min · SENTRI: ${vehSentri ?? '—'} min`)
+            ? `Ready Lane: ${vehReady} min (${reportTimeLabel(crossing.lanes?.passenger_ready?.update_time, language)}) · SENTRI: ${vehSentri ?? '—'} min (${reportTimeLabel(crossing.lanes?.passenger_sentri?.update_time, language)})`
             : (language === 'en' ? 'CBP standard passenger lane' : 'Carril estándar de pasajero CBP')}
           lang={language}
           recommendedLabel={recommendation?.verdict === 'drive' ? (language === 'en' ? 'Recommended' : 'Recomendado') : null}
@@ -243,6 +267,7 @@ export default function WalkOrDrive() {
           icon={User}
           title={language === 'en' ? 'Walk (standard)' : 'A pie (estándar)'}
           wait={ped}
+          reportTime={crossing.lanes?.pedestrian_standard?.update_time}
           sub={language === 'en'
             ? `Add ~${FOOT_OVERHEAD_MIN} min for parking + bridge`
             : `Agrega ~${FOOT_OVERHEAD_MIN} min por estacionar + puente`}
@@ -253,6 +278,7 @@ export default function WalkOrDrive() {
           icon={User}
           title={language === 'en' ? 'Walk (Ready Lane)' : 'A pie (Ready Lane)'}
           wait={pedReady}
+          reportTime={crossing.lanes?.pedestrian_ready?.update_time}
           sub={language === 'en'
             ? `Requires RFID document. Add ~${FOOT_OVERHEAD_MIN} min for parking + bridge`
             : `Requiere documento con RFID. Agrega ~${FOOT_OVERHEAD_MIN} min por estacionar + puente`}