Last Updated on 2023-05-05 , 2:34 pm
Contrary to previous expectations of a mega-jam for this upcoming Hari Raya holiday, the Singapore-Malaysia land checkpoint traffic has yet to experience severe congestion as of 21 April 2023, and the public expects the customs clearance time to be about 90 minutes.
Mobile app Checkpoint.sg, which allows users to check road conditions via traffic camera footage, estimated it to take 80 to 120 minutes to enter Johor Bahru from Woodlands Checkpoint and 50 to 75 minutes from Tuas Checkpoint to Johor Bahru.
This is already a big difference from the previous waiting times that could go up to several hours.
Previously, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) reported that the traffic volume at land checkpoints during peak hours has returned to the levels seen before the pandemic.
Specifically, during festive periods such as Chinese New Year, the average waiting time for individuals entering or leaving Singapore via car through the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints was approximately three hours.
Unexpectedly Small Crowds at Woodlands Checkpoint
According to Lianhe Zaobao, there was no crowd on-site at Woodlands Checkpoint between 5 to 8 pm on Friday (21 April 2023), the eve of Hari Raya. There were also no queues at the bus stops, and taxi stands near the checkpoint.
Passengers heading to Johor Bahru entered the departure hall in an orderly manner, and the exit for vehicles was not blocked.
This was a highly unprecedented situation as, according to reports, commuters usually had to wait four hours or more if they were stuck in the queue during peak hours.
Moreover, it has also been observed that after 5 pm, the main bulk of Malaysian workers on regular working time, aka the usual 9 am to 5 pm work shift, will be at the causeway.
This would usually cause congestion at the immigration checkpoints, with people only teetering out around 8 pm. According to reports, peak times such as Fridays would bode even more people at the checkpoints after working hours.
Aside from the Malaysian workers who commute across the border on a daily basis for work, some Malaysians residing in Singapore may return to their hometowns for the weekends.
Moreover, holiday-goers planning a trip to Malaysia may also opt to cross the Causeway during this time to eliminate the need to take any annual leave.
Ms Yu Lifang, a 40-year-old accountant who has been travelling back to Malaysia to rest every Friday night after work for eight years, shared that she was initially concerned that there would be long queues at the checkpoint due to the coming holidays, but the lack of queues surprised her.
She shared that the crowd observed on Friday was even less than crowds observed on none peak times such as weekdays. She believes the situation could be attributed to people changing their travel times because they expected long queues.
Ms Hu Liting, a 20-year-old student studying in Malaysia, planned to cross the Causeway to celebrate Hari Raya with her parents, who worked in Singapore.
After arriving at the Johor Bahru checkpoint at 5 pm, she took a bus, crossed the borders and entered Singapore within less than an hour, arriving before 6 pm.
The Situation Comes As a Pleasant Surprise
The ICA declared earlier this week that a high traffic scenario would be anticipated at the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints leading up to and during the Hari Raya Puasa weekend.
With peak-hour traffic flow expected to return to pre-pandemic levels, travellers would expect traffic at both land checkpoints comparable to the Hari Raya Puasa weekend in 2018, where over 1.5 million people crossed.
Johor Menteri Besar, Mr Onn Hafiz Ghazi, also estimated this year’s (2023) Hari Raya period to garner at least two million vehicles and travellers using the Causeway and Second Link between Malaysia and Singapore.
As such, authorities from both Singapore and Malaysia were understandably concerned about potential traffic-related issues, as congestion at the Johor Causeway is no news to us.
Earlier this month, April 2023, vehicles were stranded on the Malaysia half of the Tuas Second Link for as long as seven hours, causing a complete halt in traffic.
The congestion persisted from the afternoon until the early hours of the following morning, prompting motorists and passengers to eventually abandon their vehicles and resort to walking on the second link.
Furthermore, three days before the unexpected traffic situation on Friday (21 April 2023), an 11-second TikTok video went viral, depicting a massive queue of motorcycles waiting to cross from Singapore to Johor via the Woodlands Checkpoint.
The video captured several hundred motorcycles at a standstill, with none moving beyond an inch. The vehicles appeared stuck in the typical causeway congestions both Malaysians and Singaporeans have grown accustomed to.
Commenters under the video were unsurprised by the congestion, which had become common. Many felt that the video served as a preview for the traffic conditions to follow on Thursday (20 April 2023) and Friday (21 April 2023) before Hari Raya.
Traffic Control Measures by Malaysia and Singapore
Despite consistent efforts by Malaysia and Singapore to control congestion around the Johor Causeway, people have become weary of repeated reports of traffic jams and crowds, despite measures to prevent them.
Therefore, the lack of congestion reported on 21 April 2023 was a welcome surprise, following Mr Onn’s promises of a smooth immigration clearance process between Malaysia and Singapore.
On 20 April 2023, Mr Onn announced that all counters at Johor Bahru’s Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs and Quarantine complex would remain open throughout the festive season.
He also requested that all counters be open and operational for cars, motorcycles, bus passengers, and pedestrians.
He also highlighted Road Transport Department-related system concerns to be resolved after inspecting the complex.
Additionally, he asked Immigration Department director-general Mr Ruslin Jusoh to visit the complex to address department personnel welfare issues and boost staff morale ahead of the Hari Raya weekend.
This, along with Malaysia’s implementation of the Quick Response Team initiative in January 2023 to increase the number of vehicles that can pass through immigration clearance, appeared to help reduce congestion for this year’s (2023) Hari Raya weekend.
Furthermore, Malaysia has deployed additional staff to checkpoints during peak hours from early February 2023. On Singapore’s side, ICA also installed 64 automated gates at the immigration bus halls in 2022, allowing more bus travellers to use the automated lanes.
The ICA also deployed 700 officers and traffic personnel to monitor the main roads throughout the state in preparation for the upcoming Hari Raya period.
All these measures could have enabled more officers to be deployed to car and motorcycle zones to assist with managing traffic congestion, easing congestion for this Hari Raya weekend.
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