Fee waived for S'pore vehicles entering Johor

Singapore-registered vehicles entering Johor will not have to pay the RM20 (S$6.45) Road Charge (RC) for seven days, starting from Friday when the two neighbouring countries reopen their land border after two years.

Malaysia's Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong announced the waiver in a statement yesterday, adding the move will give motorists the opportunity to top up their Touch 'n Go cards in Johor, or register for Malaysia's Vehicle Entry Permit scheme.

Singaporeans and Singapore residents have not been able to enter Malaysia to top up their Touch 'n Go stored value cards, which are used to pay for the RC. Others may have cards that have expired.

Stocks of Touch 'n Go cards in Singapore have also mostly sold out as motorists scrambled to get new ones.

Official retailer 7-Eleven said its stock of cards ran out last Friday night, while local online payment provider EZ-Link - which provides an alternative EZ-Link x Touch 'n Go Motoring card - said its cards have also sold out.

Both types of cards, which cost $10 each, are expected to be replenished at physical stores next month.

EZ-Link will sell its card on its official Shopee store from 1pm today. It said selected Cheers outlets around the Woodlands Checkpoint will have stocks of its cards from Friday.

SPC, Caltex and Sinopec petrol stations will also start offering these EZ-Link cards later, it added.

In the meantime, resellers have appeared on e-commerce platforms such as Carousell, Lazada and Shopee to capitalise on the shortage.

The offers vary from Touch 'n Go cards with no stored value for $19 on Lazada, to $36 on Carousell.

Since yesterday, some of the listings were updated to "out of stock" as the cards have been sold.

Cards with sufficient value are required to pay for tolls in Malaysia.

Although the Touch 'n Go card has a 10-year lifespan, it becomes dormant if left unused for 12 months. The majority of cards in Singapore would no longer be active, given that the borders have been closed since March 2020.

The card can be topped up only in person in Malaysia, though a workaround is to register it on the Touch 'n Go eWallet app and activate the PayDirect feature.

On its website, Touch 'n Go dissuades consumers from getting the cards from unauthorised online sellers as the cards will not qualify for the company's refund policy.

Consultant Ken Koh, 49, said he will wait awhile before driving to Malaysia again. "There seem to be some uncertainties over the procedures on clearing Customs at this point," he said.