Clearance is smooth on first day of operation but with fewer lanes leading to the complex, bottleneck develops
By
Diana Othman
Leaving the Singapore checkpoint at Woodlands, cars have to pass through the old Johor checkpoint to get to the new facility. -- ST PHOTO: LIM WUI LIANG
IMMIGRATION clearance was smooth at the new Johor checkpoint, which opened yesterday, but many drivers still took more than an hour to get through it.
The problem was a traffic bottleneck into the facility, said motorists.
LACK OF LANES LEADING TO NEW FACILITY 'When we left the old checkpoint, four lanes of vehicles had to suddenly squeeze into two lanes. But the clearance was okay.' - Real estate agent Dan Pang, 31, who was stuck in traffic for over an hour
FURTHER AWAY FROM DOWNTOWN JOHOR
The route to Johor Baru from the old terminal is shorter and more 'straightforward' than the new route. 'Because of that and the traffic jam, it is really eating up time.' - Businesswoman Jermain Lim, 32, who travels to Malaysia at least once a week
Leaving the Singapore checkpoint at Woodlands, cars have to pass through the old Johor checkpoint to get to the new facility. From there, it is a two-lane carriageway for cars, vans and buses, and one for motorcycles only.
'When we left the old checkpoint, four lanes of vehicles had to suddenly squeeze into two lanes,' said real estate agent Dan Pang, 31, who was stuck in traffic for over an hour. 'But the clearance was okay.'
The new Sultan Iskandar Complex was in full operation for the first time yesterday processing all travellers entering Malaysia by cars, motorcycles, vans and buses.
The old terminal was closed and will be demolished after Malaysian authorities are satisfied with the flow of traffic at the new complex, reported Malaysian media.
It also reported Johor immigration director Mohd Nasri Ishak saying that the congestion, which was mostly during peak hours, was caused by motorists being unprepared for the new cashless system.
Yesterday was also the first time that the RM2.90 (S$1.20) fee to enter Malaysia had to be paid with 'Touch n Go' cards. Cash is no longer accepted.
Staff from Plus, the toll operators, were at the old and new terminals selling the cards for RM20 each.
All five Singapore motorists interviewed by The Straits Times had cards.
The new complex was built to cope with the increasing volume of traffic between the two countries. Last year, over 48 million vehicles crossed the Causeway - about 130,000 per day.
The RM1.3 billion complex, built on a 113-ha site in Bukit Chagar, boasts 76 lanes for cars and 100 for motorcycles.
Trucks and lorries will still use the Tanjung Puteri checkpoint.
But while the new facility is certainly spacious, the lack of lanes leading to it could pose a problem, said motorists. They also had a quibble with its location.
Mr Pang said he preferred the older Johor checkpoint as it was nearer to downtown Johor Baru, where all the malls and eateries are situated.
Ms Jermain Lim, 32, a businesswoman who was stuck in traffic for about an hour, agreed. Ms Lim, who travels to Malaysia at least once a week, said the route to JB from the old terminal was shorter and more 'straightforward'.
'Because of that and the traffic jam, it is really eating up time,' she complained.
The facility was first opened to vehicles on Dec 2 for motorists to acquaint themselves with it while immigration checks were still carried out at the old terminal.
At its official opening on Dec 1, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that the sprawling, multi-storey complex would become a major landmark used by an estimated nine million visitors each year.
