Human Jams So Serious on Causeway Due to Long Weekend, People Were Pushing Others Up the Escalator

With the long weekend starting yesterday (21 October), it’s no surprise that many Singaporeans have taken the chance to cross the Causeway over to Johor Bahru (JB).

Especially since we weren’t able to do so during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, many Malaysians working in Singapore were also looking forward to travelling back home for the long weekend.

And the sight at the Causeway came as no surprise: There were so many people trying to get through the borders, people ended up shoving each other while on the escalator while being trapped in human jams.

Apart from that, vehicles were forced to wait in jams as well.

Here’s everything that happened over the past night.

Snaking Lines Formed by 7pm, But Queues Were Orderly

At around 7pm yesterday (21 October) night, videos of people queuing inside the immigration hall of the checkpoints surfaced.

Although there were long lines at every counter, it was still obvious that the crowds were still mostly orderly and organised.

Those who were waiting to get past the counters were generally quiet and patiently waiting for their turn.

Motorcycle Lane Filled With Vehicles by 10pm

At 10.20pm, another Facebook user uploaded the following video to the Malaysia-Singapore Border Crossers (MSBC) Facebook group.

In the video, the motorcycle lanes at the customs were packed like sardines, with motorcyclists and their vehicles extremely close next to one another.

On the other hand, the lanes designated for cars to pass through seemed relatively empty.

However, despite a large number of motorcycles in the lanes, motorcyclists were able to move forth in the queue and the vehicles were not in a standstill-jam situation.

A later comment on the Facebook post revealed that the situation in the motorcycle lanes was still the same even an hour later at 11pm.

Human Jams Right Before Midnight Resulted in People Being Shoved on Escalators

However, the night wasn’t that peaceful elsewhere.

At around 10.40pm on the same day, many individuals had made their way to Malaysia and were proceeding to clear immigration there.

But instead of the organised crowds that were formed earlier in the night, videos showed that the scene at the Malaysian customs were extremely chaotic.

Apart from people shouting at each other noisily, many also seemed frustrated with how the queues were moving.

Two such videos were uploaded to the same Facebook group, with one of them featuring people trying to get onto an escalators

It seemed like the escalators were the ones located near the bus bay, which the travellers had to get on in order to get to a higher floor where the immigration counters were located at.

The video showed an incredibly large and noisy crowd trying to make their way up the escalators in the area, and people were shoving and jostling each other to try and ensure that they would be able to get on the escalator.

A second video, posted by the same user, also showed the situation from a higher point of view, which revealed just how many people were waiting for their turn to get on the escalator and stairs.

People Started Screaming, Uniformed Officers Deployed to Manage Situation

At around the same time, another Facebook user posted a video of the Malaysian customs to the same Facebook group as well.

In the video, screams could be heard as people tried to push each other forward and onto the escalators.

The video then panned from the sea of people trying their best to get onto the escalators to two staff members in uniform.

One of them stood on a platform and tried shouting at the travellers to wait in line for their turn, while another attempted to act as a physical barrier between the people and the escalators.

However, it seemed like the advice fell on deaf ears, for the people still seemed to be pushing their way through the crowds to get on the escalators.

Traffic Jam Still Present at 4am

As for how long the jams lasted, it seems like they didn’t clear up even well into the night.

According to One Motoring, there were still snaking queues of vehicles trying to get across the Causeway towards JB at around 4am today (22 October).

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ICA Previously Issued Travel Advisory

Prior to yesterday (21 October), the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) released an advisory on 19 October.

The advisory noted that the traffic levels have returned to pre-COVID-19 levels during peak hours, and advised travellers to avoid the peak hours when entering or leaving Malaysia in order to prevent traffic jams.

Apart from that, the advisory also included a notice that the automated clearance lanes at the bus halls of the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex in JB are currently undergoing upgrading, which will affect those departing from Malaysia via the borders near Woodlands.

The upgrading works will last until 10 November this year.

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Featured Image: Facebook (Gugan Zizou + Revathi Rajagopal)