This is to cater to the expected demand from people heading to the Iskandar region in Johor.

Iskandar is a development corridor in the southern part of the state, about three times the size of Singapore.

The two countries agreed on the move to 'enhance transport links' after the fourth meeting of the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Ministerial Committee earlier this month.

No deadline has been set for the move yet.

Operators of these cross-border services said it was a good move to have more services and expressed interest in applying to run them.

The services that now ply routes between Singapore and Johor Baru are run by local companies SBS Transit, SMRT and Singapore-Johore Express Bus Service, as well as Malaysian company Handal Indah.

There is no limit to the number of trips that they can make per day.

These buses are similar to regular service buses that run on Singapore roads and are not the large express tour buses that go to other parts of Malaysia such as Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh or Penang.

Said operations officer Wang Liang Jiong of Singapore-Johore Express: 'If the opportunity arises, it is definitely one we will consider.

Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.