Traffic jams galore: Man spends 7 hours driving from Johor Bahru to Singapore after trying land checkpoints

Driving from Johor Bahru to Singapore can sometimes turn out to be a jittery experience, especially on Sundays.

For this Singaporean, smooth traffic flow was never really on the cards as he drove back on Sunday (June 19) afternoon, along with others who did the same before the start of a new work week.

Two land checkpoints and seven hours later, he finally made it home.

TikTok user V.raj___, who found himself stuck in traffic at Second Link for three hours, filmed the experience.

While waiting, he managed to sneak in a quick snack, and was seen enjoying some putu mayam on the car's bonnet with his friend.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@v.raj___/video/7110879275439426818[/embed]

Unfortunately, the cars ahead weren't moving and V.raj___ said he helped to direct traffic there for a few hours.

"We were there at 2pm we waiting and tried clearing traffic till like 4pm," he wrote.

It seemed like many, V.raj___ included, had re-routed and returned to Singapore via Woodlands checkpoint that day. 

In the comments section, some netizens joked about how the man could spend his hours should he ever find himself in another traffic jam this bad.

AsiaOne has reached out to V.raj___ for more information.

That same weekend, some Singaporeans travelling to Malaysia via tour buses were stranded at the Second Link.

The Star reported that a tour bus waited over four hours for immigration clearance at the Malaysia checkpoint, despite leaving Singapore as early as 7.30am on Saturday.

Tour guide Henry Gomez said that Singaporean visitors were frustrated as they saw public and factory buses "given priority at the immigration clearance while tour buses were told to make way".

Cross-border travel tips

Since the start of the June school holidays, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has been warning Singaporeans of heavy traffic at the land checkpoints throughout the month. 

For the weekend of June 10 to June 12, Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints saw 267,000 travellers per day.

The agency added: "ICA expects continued heavy traffic for the remainder of June until the school term starts on June 27."

If you're not keen on getting trapped in traffic jams like these, there are apps aplenty to help you make an informed decision before crossing the borders.

Or just take the train. If you haven't heard, the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) train service between Johor Bahru and Woodlands is up and running again after a two-year suspension due to Covid-19.

Each train ride across the Causeway takes about five minutes and there are 31 daily trips — 13 from Woodlands to JB Sentral and 18 from JB Sentral to Woodlands. A ticket from Woodlands to JB is $5 while a ticket from JB to Woodlands would set you back RM5 ($S1.60).

More than 12 million people have travelled between Malaysia and Singapore since the reopening of the borders in April, The Star reported.

Addressing the issue of congestion at on the bus lane at Second Link, Johor chief minister Onn Hafiz said: "More manpower has been added to help improve the effectiveness of services in these two CIQs".

ALSO READ: Travelling to Malaysia? Traffic at land checkpoints to remain heavy throughout June holidays: ICA

amierul@asiaone.com