No ride-hailing: How to travel from S’pore to JB without getting into trouble with the law

SINGAPORE – Ride-hailing services have become a popular option for those visiting Malaysia in recent years, with the authorities recently clamping

down hard on such services that are offered illegally

.

While these services offer convenience – picking up and dropping off commuters at their desired destinations – they lack the proper licences to transport passengers across borders.

They also lack proper insurance coverage for their passengers, with Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling saying in a Facebook post on Aug 6 that “such services put passengers at risk, and harm the livelihoods of law-abiding licensed drivers”.

Unless the rules change, these are the legal ways for those in Singapore to enter Johor Bahru.

By bus

This transport mode has the most options, from public buses to private operators.

Public transport is the cheapest, with

bus services 160, 170, 170X and 950

offering cross-border rides.

SBS Transit operates bus service 160 between Jurong Town Hall Interchange and JB Sentral Bus Terminal. Departures start at 5.25am every day, according to its website.

It also runs service 170 between Larkin Terminal in Johor Bahru and Queen Street Terminal, near Jalan Besar, with the first bus departing at 5.20am daily.

Service 170X – which plies only a section of service 170’s route – is also run by SBS Transit, with the first bus leaving Johor Bahru at 8.28am on weekdays.

Meanwhile, service 950 is operated by SMRT, and travels from the Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange to JB Sentral Bus Terminal before returning to Woodlands.

Adult fares cost between $1.81 and $2.41 when travelling from the terminal stop in Singapore to either Larkin or JB Sentral, according to the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) fare calculator.

Alternatively, Causeway Link buses are also available, departing from locations such as Kranji MRT station and Queen Street Bus Terminal, on top of licensed tour buses.

Fares on Causeway Link buses cost between $2.60 and $5, while those on licensed tour buses cost from $6, and rides for the latter can be reserved via online booking platforms such as Easybook.

By bicycle/on foot

If you do not want to brave the jam, then there is the option to brave the heat.

Both cyclists and those who want to walk will have to use the Woodlands Causeway, with cyclists clearing immigration with motorcyclists.

As for those walking into Malaysia, after clearing immigration at Woodlands Checkpoint, there is a pedestrian walkway on the Causeway.

By car

Those in Singapore can travel to Johor Bahru by car, as long as it is not via a private-hire vehicle.

On Sept 22, Malaysia rolled out a trial run for its National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe), allowing Singaporeans travelling to or from Johor Bahru to

use QR codes for immigration clearance

in place of passports.

Commuters travelling in groups can clear their immigration checks using a single QR code, although they should still carry their passports and any valid travel documents with them.

The trial will run until Feb 28, 2026, with 27 immigration booths at the Johor Bahru checkpoint equipped to recognise the MyNIISe app.

Of these 27 booths, eight are for outbound cars, while another eight are for inbound ones.

At the Second Link checkpoint, 24 booths can do so, with a total of 12 for cars – six in each direction.

Singapore had earlier introduced the use of QR codes for immigration clearance through Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints, with the initiative rolled out in March 2024.

By taxi

Under the existing cross-border taxi scheme, a licensed fleet of up to 200 taxis from each side can ferry passengers between Singapore and Johor Bahru.

Such taxis can pick up or drop off passengers anywhere within their respective countries.

Once they have crossed the border, however, they can pick up or drop off passengers only at designated terminals.

“This arrangement helps ensure that the cross-border taxis do not ply the roads illegally,” said LTA on its website.

For Singapore taxis, this means that while they can pick up passengers from anywhere on the island, they are allowed to drop them off only at Larkin Sentral in Johor Bahru.

Malaysian taxis, on the other hand, can pick up passengers only at Ban San Street Terminal in Rochor.

Fares for cross-border taxi services from Singapore to Malaysia from Ban San Street Terminal cost $60 per taxi.

Commuters here can also book ComfortDelGro and Strides Premier taxis

for cross-border trips

, which cost $80 from any other Singapore location, except the airports.

Trips from the airports will cost

$120

instead.

By train

Until the

upcoming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link

is operational, the only train service available between Singapore and Malaysia is the one between Johor Bahru and Woodlands.

Operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu, Shuttle Tebrau began transporting passengers between the two countries in July 2015.

A ticket for the five-minute journey into Singapore costs RM5 (S$1.50), and $5 into Malaysia.

However, it will

cease operations within six months

after the RTS Link begins its service. The fare for the rail link has yet to be announced.