The local authorities are open to ideas that can improve the commute between Singapore and Johor, but have no plans to fully liberalise cross-border ride-hailing services.
In a statement on Aug 3, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) made this clarification following an Aug 1 meeting between Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow and Johor state’s chief minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
A cross-border ride-hailing service was among several proposals discussed during the meeting, said Datuk Onn Hafiz in an Aug 1 Facebook post.
On Aug 3, Mr Siow said in his own Facebook post that the two ministers discussed many issues. These included cross-border transport, as well as the importance of safeguarding the interests of drivers and platform workers, and how LTA has been enhancing enforcement against illegal passenger and delivery services.
Following the ministers’ meeting, some Malaysian media outlets had reported that Singapore and Johor had proposed introducing cross-border ride-hailing services as an alternative transport option for commuters.
LTA said in its statement that while ride-hailing was discussed at the meeting, no decision was made.
The authority noted that there is an existing cross-border taxi scheme (CBTS), which allows a licensed fleet of up to 200 taxis from each country to ferry passengers to and fro. These taxis are allowed to pick up and drop off passengers at one designated point in each country – Larkin Sentral in Johor Bahru for Singapore taxis, and Ban San Street Terminal in Rochor for Malaysian taxis.
“Today, the existing quota of the CBTS is not fully utilised,” said LTA. “In view of commuter demand for more convenient cross-border travel, we will encourage full take-up of the quota of licensed taxis.”
The authorities are considering increasing the number of boarding and alighting points in each other’s country, and the use of ride-hailing apps to book cross-border trips on licensed taxis, said LTA.
“In any adjustment to our cross-border point-to-point transport regime, our key priorities are to better meet commuter demand while safeguarding the interests of our taxi and private-hire drivers,” it added.
In his Aug 1 Facebook post, Mr Onn Hafiz said that allowing ride-hailing as a cross-border transport option could potentially reduce congestion, while opening up income opportunities for Malaysian drivers.
“It could also serve as a catalyst for a more user-friendly, safe and competitive transport system, while strengthening integration between both countries’ public transport networks,” he said in remarks carried in Malaysian reports.
Separately, LTA and Singapore bus operators are also reviewing a request from Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Agency to start operating cross-border bus services from Johor Bahru an hour earlier, at 4am instead of 5am.
In its Aug 3 statement, LTA said it is assessing whether the operating times of these services can be adjusted to help address bus crowding early in the morning.
“A key consideration is that the first buses should match the starting time of our local bus and MRT services when they arrive in Singapore,” said the authority.
SBS Transit currently operates service 160 from Johor Bahru Checkpoint, with departures starting at 5am on weekdays and 5.50am on weekends or public holidays. It also runs service 170 between Larkin Terminal in Johor Bahru and Queen Street Terminal near Jalan Besar, with departures starting from 5.20am on weekdays and 5.30am on weekends or public holidays.
SMRT operates service 950 across the Causeway from Johor Bahru Checkpoint towards the Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange. No information on the starting times for its Singapore-bound service is publicly available, but the Johor Bahru-bound service departs from Woodlands at 5.30am every day.
Besides SBS Transit and SMRT, some private bus operators also offer cross-border bus services.
LTA said it is “exploring with cross-border bus operators the possibility of bringing forward the bus start times slightly, as well as engaging private bus operators on their interest to operate earlier services at higher fares”.
Sarah Koh for The Straits Times
Singapore-Johor ride-hailing services will not be fully liberalised: LTA
