Causeway jams common during holidays, but ‘drastic improvement’ needed to tackle inefficiency
In response to a letter writer who said he was stuck in traffic for hours due to slow clearance at the Woodlands Checkpoint, readers were mostly unsympathetic, saying the snaking and slow traffic along the Causeway has been a part of life for years, especially during the year-end holiday period. Others suggested ways to improve the situation, from avoiding the trip up to Malaysia during such periods, to hiring ancillary workers to direct traffic, to offering better data for travellers to plan journeys.
In response to a letter writer who said he was stuck in traffic for hours due to slow clearance at the Woodlands Checkpoint, readers were mostly unsympathetic, saying the snaking and slow traffic along the Causeway has been a part of life for years, especially during the year-end holiday period. Others suggested ways to improve the situation, from avoiding the trip up to Malaysia during such periods, to hiring ancillary workers to direct traffic, to offering better data for travellers to plan journeys.
This year special or what? There’s always alternative transportation to Malaysia to avoid the long wait to clear customs. DANNY QUEK
Just take public buses. Don’t contribute to the jam by driving your car. Use Grab in Johor Baru. BEN TAN
Well, to help ease the traffic, maybe Singaporeans should stop going to JB for the next couple of weeks. BENJAMIN LAU
Build a long travellator? VISHNU PRIYA
Counters at both links are seldom fully utilised. Passport scanning system is lagging and needs an upgrade. Talk about a third bridge is a waste of time and money. Improve the utilisation and efficiency first. DEREK CHUA
Fully agreed. Woodlands Checkpoint is always the bottleneck! WK LOH
That’s my observation, too. I travel often to Kuala Lumpur. The jam is always at Singapore’s side, both going in and getting out. There simply aren’t enough counters opened to clear the traffic. And we were supposed to be super efficient. DESMOND POON
Totally agree with the writer. The problem can be resolved with more staff members manning the booths, especially on Singapore's side. GORETTI PEREIRA
Well, it is not the job of customs to facilitate cross-border traffic. It is to prevent undesired elements from entering Singapore and levy the duties required by law. So if you want to travel, you have to take on the risk of delays, if only in the name of national security. JAMES LUI
There is human resource crunch and yet no innovation to employ staff with flexible working hours to ease the pressure. BENEDICT LOW
Maybe the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) can give a breakdown of how many cars are packing the highways leading to the checkpoints during off-peak and peak periods, and the number of immigration counters operating during those periods. At least people who are still keen to cross the checkpoints can estimate how long the jam will be. INDRA ADRISUDIRO
Getting worse each year. The computer systems are slow, sometimes the scan for one car takes 15 minutes. And you are stuck at the back not sure what is happening, then the gate closes and you are told to queue again in another line. FREYA FRAN TAN
Travelling to and fro daily for past eight years, I notice that the checkpoints seem to have fewer auxiliary police to direct traffic. This would have helped a lot. At least cars will not simply cut queue. TROY TROY C
What is 4.5 hours? I got stuck for seven hours... It's not a good time to cross the border... maybe try next year, or better still, stop going to Johor. RAAJAN NAIDOO
If you expect to drive into Malaysia, you have to foresee such things will happen. If you are afraid of jams, don’t drive in. Singapore has flights to Kuala Lumpur, too. I used to drive in every week for petrol, shopping, movie etc... but after Singapore allowed private-hire vehicles and most of these drivers go to Johor Baru to pump petrol, I rather save my time. The amount of money I save spending in JB is just not worth the hours stuck in the jam. For your information, if ICA receives any information about illegal stuff coming into Singapore, there will be heavy checks. So, drive at your own risk and don’t complain. ANT NG
Just enforce full-tank rule for Singapore vehicles entering Malaysia, such that private-hire car drivers do not go into JB to get cheaper petrol. VERONICA CHIN
I am living in Woodlands, always riding bike to JB two to three times a week… Sorry to say, Singaporeans like to complain even though the traffic jam is the same every year in December at Woodlands or Tuas checkpoints. Those who want to go ahead, be prepared to go through long hours. BOBDOZO HAIRI
I went in to JB on Friday afternoon last week using the Tuas Second Link. Jam was on Singapore’s side… no jam on Johor’s side. On the Singapore side, the wing that I took has 12 counters and only six were operational. TERENCE JL WEE
I was at Tuas Checkpoint on Dec 18 around 8.30am, stuck in a jam for almost an hour. Only five of the 16 counters were open. Why can't ICA increase the number of open counters during this festive season? It has to plan for enough manpower to ensure customs can operate smoothly. When I crossed over to Malaysia, almost 80 per cent of the counters were open. I don't care if there is a rostered leave system, it is its duty to ensure that there are enough people working to reduce the jam. JONUS JUN.
You think uniformed personnel have no family and no need to go for a holiday? They have school children who can go away only during the holidays. KAMAL BIN SALLEH
I get kind of worried when I see comments saying the manpower shortage or the lack of service is because of the festive season and people have to go on leave. What if there is a shortage of doctors in hospitals? Or police officers and firemen all went on holiday? IVAN LEE
The land border clearance must be looked into and drastic improvement needed. Manpower or whatever. PAUL KIN LIM
Singapore will soon be known for inefficiency if this continues. GARY ONG
Too many peeps go across to spend money. The long jam is for deterrence. MOK TONG SUN
Imagine the pollutants from all these idling vehicles. No wonder the ice caps are melting and sea levels rising. ADRIAN WEE
Why can't the authorities send officers on the road to control the traffic to make entering Singapore more efficient? Can't they hire or engage more people to do the job, to make things smoother and better for everyone? JOEL QUEK
With the number of hours, I could have reached Indonesia. In Batam, getting through customs was very orderly and fast for our recent trip. Shopping, cheap fresh seafood... SUSAN LIM
Never mind the jams, still worth it to do shopping at JB or holiday in Malacca etc. WONG YKING
*Comments were first posted on TODAY's Facebook page and TODAY Readers Facebook group. They are edited for language and clarity.