PUBLISHED ONMay 18, 2026 5:47 AMUPDATEDMay 18, 2026 9:02 AMBYKhoo Yi-HangIt was supposed to be a non-stop trip from Singapore to Malaysia, taking just over five and a half hours — but purportedly required four stops and over nine hours instead.
A disgruntled traveller has shared his bad experience with Billion Stars Express' coach service in a Facebook post on Thursday (May 14).
The traveller, Facebook user Toni Tan, said he had booked an 11am coach to Kuala Lumpur through Easybook with Billion Stars Express, bound for Berjaya Times Square.
After making the booking, the 61-year-old swim coach received a WhatsApp confirmation informing him that the bus would pick him up at 18 Tai Seng at 11am.
To avoid missing the coach, Tan and his companions rushed from Tan Tock Seng Hospital by taxi, spending $14.77 and arriving at the pickup point at 10.35am.
By 11.30am, however, the bus still had not arrived.
"When I contacted the company, they apologised and said the actual pickup time should be 12pm instead of 11am," Tan said.
"This is unacceptable because I booked an 11am coach and your WhatsApp confirmation also clearly stated 11am.
"Due to your mistake, we incurred unnecessary taxi expenses and wasted an hour waiting."
Things did not get better on board, either, according to Tan.
Despite the booking advertisement stating that it would be a non-stop trip taking five hours and 37 minutes, the journey was different, Tan said.
He claimed the coach had a 45-minute lunch stop after clearing Malaysia immigration at the Second Link, followed by a 20-minute stop near Senai Toll Plaza at around 2.15pm.
There was then a 25-minute toilet break at Pagoh in Johor and a detour to Seremban in Negeri Sembilan to let some passengers alight at around 6.55pm.
At 8pm, he was told to alight at Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS), one of the main express bus terminals in Kuala Lumpur.
Tan was then told that he needed to wait for a transfer bus to his original destination at Berjaya Times Square.
"The driver could not even confirm when the next coach would arrive and told us, 'If not happy, complain to company'," Tan recalled.
He purportedly did, making multiple calls to the company, but received no response.
Without any information to work with, Tan decided to take a taxi from TBS to Berjaya Times Square, costing him RM50 ($16).
"This service was extremely misleading, poorly managed, and highly disappointing," he wrote in his post.
"I hope Easybook and Billion Stars Express will investigate this matter seriously and provide proper compensation and an explanation."
He also told AsiaOne that he would not be travelling with Billion Stars Express again.
Responding to queries from AsiaOne, an operations manager from Billion Stars Express who only wanted to be known as Ooi said Tan was supposed to be notified of the change in pick-up timing at around 9.40am on Thursday.
However, he admitted that staff failed to do so and only realised their mistake when Tan contacted them at around 11.20am. Staff apologised to Tan, Ooi said.
Ooi also explained that Tan may have misunderstood his booking to begin with.
He said that the trip was indeed "direct no transfer" — Tan did not need to leave the bus at any point of the journey to Berjaya Times Square.
He clarified that the phrase "direct no transfer" refers to direct cross-border operation without requiring passengers to change buses during immigration clearance.
The multiple stops made throughout the trip were also exaggerated, Ooi said, claiming that the coach had a 25-minute lunch stop and a 10-minute stop to pick up passengers at Senai Toll Plaza instead of the respective 45-minute and 20-minute stops Tan had shared.
Citing Malaysia's Road Transport Department requirements, Ooi said these stops were necessary to rotate drivers on the long journey.
However, he later clarified with AsiaOne that GPS records show the driver had taken a break in excess of the allotted 30 minutes, and said the company will conduct an internal review of the driver.
Additionally, other passengers may also need breaks.
"It's wrong when you take a break, but also wrong when you don't stop... we try to avoid taking breaks that are too long," Ooi said.
Ooi also clarified that Tan did not need to leave the bus at TBS as the next destination was Berjaya Times Square.
The bus had stopped to coordinate the movement of a separate group of travellers heading towards Penang, he explained, surmising that there might have been miscommunication between Tan and the coach driver.
After speaking with the driver, Ooi said he might have felt some pressure as he also had to manage other passengers on board.
Addressing the fact that the journey took far longer than originally advertised, Ooi reasoned that the timing provided "is just an estimation".
"When we drive our own car, we might also face jams or other unexpected issues," he said, adding that such situations may arise even via the Second Link route.
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khooyihang@asiaone.com
