Calm at Woodlands Checkpoint as new toll charges kick in

SINGAPORE — All appeared calm on the first day of higher tolls for motorists leaving and entering Singapore via the Woodlands Checkpoint yesterday, with travellers reporting nothing unusual as they made their commute.

This was in contrast to the flare-up in August, when Malaysia’s higher tolls took effect. Two bus drivers refused to pay and left their vehicles at the Malaysian customs, blocking traffic for thousands of travellers.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) raised tolls at Woodlands Checkpoint for all vehicles except motorcycles, after Malaysia first announced increases of its own, in accordance with the long-standing policy of matching toll changes.

Ms Molly Chittick, senior sales manager of private bus operator Transtar Travel, said the hikes had been tough on her company, which provides hourly bus services from Johor to Changi Airport and Sentosa. The buses run at the same frequency regardless of passenger numbers. “Even when there are no passengers, we have to pay the same amount (of toll charges),” she said.

She estimated that the company would incur an additional S$5,000 in monthly expenses from the changes.

The firm is considering fare increases of about S$1 and will seek approval from the LTA to do so, she added.

Operators under the Johor Baru Bus Association of Factory Bus Operators and Drivers, which had earlier announced its intention to raise fees by 10 to 15 per cent to cope with new toll charges, implemented the fee hikes yesterday, said its president Tan Peng Chai.

Despite higher fares, there has been a 10 per cent increase in customers since the LTA announced the revised toll charges last month, he added. Xue Jianyue