Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Yesterday (Monday) and today were an absolute nightmare at the Tuas crossing, Singapore end, for some reason.

Went in at 0800, the traffic was backed up at least a kilometre (cars.... bikes shorter but took longer!). Took me 45 minutes to get through on my bike! It's normally pretty clear at that time.
Coming back was just as bad. Put it down to a busy Monday.
Coming back today (taxi... bike not suitable today!) it took one hour to get out of Singapore.... the traffic was chaos.

Weird thing is, all those cars getting out of Singapore have to go in to Malaysia. After struggling for an hour to get through the S'pore checkpoint, I was fearing the worst at Malaysia.... we were the third car in line when we got there!

Singaporeans will have you believe the cause of backed up traffic is Malaysian Immigration. That could not be further from the truth!

The REALLY odd thing is that about half the Malaysia booths were shut, and it looked like most of the Singapore ones were open.... anyone have any ideas???:confused:

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

I'm quite convinced there's some sort of Bermuda Triangle on that bridge!! That seems to happen a lot - and to be fair it happens both ways.

Don't know what was going on the last couple of days but it took me 2 hours to get to work today when it normally takes 45/50 minutes!! Not impressed!

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

I delayed return today until 8pm. Took a taxi (bike still in for service). Mega nightmare!! The traffic was backed up to the tunnel, at least 1km away, and hardly moving. Turns out the bikes were taking all lanes, forcing cars into one lane only.... oh, how lucky I was to be in a car today!! Only took 45 minutes.... the bike would have taken hours!

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

It was like that at 5.30pm and the bridge was horrendous again yesterday morning too (1.5 hours to work). I'm looking for a job here and hoping it comes off soon!!

I just don't understand why the traffic has been so bad this week.

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Left 0800 this morning, straight to an empty booth on Malaysia side, straight into a jam starting 3 km from Singapore border. For some reason car lane again narrowed down to one, not because of bikes, but cones.... got to work at 0945..... this is nuts! And I cannot for the life of me figure out why....

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Friend of mine told me there was something wrong with the Auto Pass reader at Tuas... some of them were broken or something like that, which is the cause of horrendous jam. Hopefully they will take care of it soon!

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Thanks Singmom, that would make sense.... that or the passport scanner (although they only seem to take as long as normal doing that bit). Still in the office, just looked at the webcam and really not looking forward to getting home!

http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/publis..._cameras0.html

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

1 hour 50 minutes..... left at 1830, got home 2020.... the bike tail back was horrific! Can't afford to do a taxi every day though....

Myvi, here I come!!

PS... just checked the tuas camera again, time 2225 and there are cars and bikes tailed back for as far as you can see. What on earth is going on????

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Hi geedee,

I'm sorry to hear the traffic was so bad again... How long does it usually take you to get home?

We are moving to Nusajaya in one month time and will be commuting, too. I certainly hope things will improve soon!

I crossed Tuas Tuesday night myself and it wasn't too bad, maybe spent 30 minutes waiting. Magically at the Malaysian checkpoint, there was no queue. But I did hear from my friend that last night was really bad at Tuas and there was an issue with the card reader.

Let's hope things go back to normal...!

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Let's hope so Singmom1 Just looked at the camera (2130, Friday) Horror story, again. It's as though there are thousands more bikes than normal.....

If I leave town at 8pm (which I do if I can't leave before 4) it normally takes about 50 minutes, door to door.

This week it didn't seem to matter what time I left (home or work) the traffic jam was mega. When we eventually did get to the Singapore checkpoint, it didn't take any longer than usual and there were no issues with the card readers.

I worked from home today as I couldn't bear the thought of doing it again!

If it carries on like this I am going to have to have a massive rethink....

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

It has been very odd this week. It does seem like there are suddenly thousands more cars and bikes!

I know the Singapore schools finish today for their long break and I think the Malaysian ones have roughly the same holidays so maybe that's the cause. Who knows?!

I usually leave work at 5pm (Portsdown Road) and can be home in Nusajaya for 5.45pm. Straight through both Immigration counters normally so this week has been a real shock to the system. Just as we'll my office is really flexible as I was late every morning this week.

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

I thought it might be the schools.... but the problem seemed to be bikes. Once we got ahead of the bikes (in the one lane left for cars) we whizzed through.

Plus, the reason bikes aren't a problem at the Malaysia side is they're rarely stopped. Normally I just drive through the MACS lane on mine, both ways, and don't need to stop!

Is there some major contract going on where they've employed an extra 10,000 people from Gelang Patah???:(

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

I understand there has been a new computer system initiated at the Singapore checkpoint since 10th Nov which seems to be taking longer to process the flow of cars and motorcycles going through. Certainly there has been a marked slow down on the Singapore side since then and the Malaysia side is (currently) relatively plain sailing. As with all systems though, it is probably just a question of the users getting more used to it to get faster.

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Hello MCM (school??) Dad... thanks for that info.. (and welcome to the forum, but that's BB's job!!) it seems to make sense.

I was coming back from S'pore last night, about 6pm, and it was taking between 2 and 3 minutes per car!! Took forever. I felt sorry for the line up coming in to Singapore.... it went right back to the land at Malaysia!!!
We were first in the queue at the Malaysia side, after being stuck for over half an hour at the S'pore side.

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

and :welcome: from me too

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

HI geedee, yes I have 2 kids at the school.

I spoke to one of the staff at the border yesterday. It is definitely the new computer system which he proudly said was more thorough. It seems that motorbikes are becoming much slower to process. I came back from Singapore into Malaysia last night at about 9:30 and there was no queue for cars, but motorbikes were backed halfway down the ramp and they were having to have security staff there to keep them out of the (single) car lane.

I have no doubt that this situation will have to improve by them either hiring new staff, getting existing staff better trained on the new system or reverting to the old system. The companies in Tuas and Jurong who rely on Malaysian commuters to run their power stations and refineries will be going nuts to the government about this.

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Hi MCMDad.... yes, you're right!
I left the house this morning at 0700, still using my trusted taxi service (but picking the bike up today). Arrived at work (CBD) at....0915. The line to get to Singapore was 2Km long.
It's getting heated.... this morning someone got out of his Singapore car and had a real go at one of the border guards. It was all in Chinese but my driver said the equivalent of the "F" word was used a lot!
I asked the guy who did our passports what was going on and he said it was a new system and we should complain to the senior officers!!
The Singapore side also had plenty of unmanned booths... I think there's a shortage of people too.
It's a far cry from the efficiency Singapore boasts.... and not a peep in the media!!
I don't know how long I can carry on doing this.... :(

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Well, good that you guys are piping up on here.

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

I wrote a snot-o-gram to the LTA this afternoon. Got an efficient "auto response" back.... :rofl:

Left work at 3pm today, no line up. Border Officer again confirmed it's all down to the new software... also said nothing is being done to modify it.

The Iskandar dream could be dead in the water soon! I wonder if it's some sneaky reprisal for the property tax??? Nobody is going to put up with this for long, that's for sure.

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Have things gotten better? I checked webcam and didn't see too much traffic on the bridge today... Hope it's getting better as our move to Nusajaya is around the corner...

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Not really sure as I've been leaving home at 0500 and coming back at 1500!
I did ask a guard when they were going to fix it and he said they were working on it.

Bocat, any updates from your end?

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

I had another 1.5 hour journey to work on Tuesday. Slightly better on the way home but that's because I'd gone to meet a friend after work so didn't get in the queue til almost 8pm. Even at that time it still took 40 minutes just to get through Sing Immigration.

I was off sick on Wednesday but apparently the queue was right back to the Malaysian border!

I was dreading Thursday morning after I heard that but there no queue whatsoever on Thursday morning! Back to normal - whizzed over the bridge and through Immigration in no time at all. Very bizarre. It was like someone had just flicked a switch to make it all better!!

I took the kids over yesterday as they had the day off school and it was busy both ways but then it was a Malaysian public holiday so that was to be expected.

Tune in for next week's exciting instalment of "Crossing the Border - How to Keep Your Sanity"!!

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Thanks Bocat.... we went into S'pore yesterday too (left at 0900, returned at 1530) and there were small queues, but at least they were moving quickly. No sign of mega-bike line either.... fingers crossed for next week, although I'll still be leaving at 0500 until I hear some good reports!

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

I'm not working til Wednesday so hopefully I'll hear from some others what it's been like around the time I leave at 8am.

There are updates on the Leisure Farm FB page about it too - not sure if you're on there.

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

No, we're not on that.... asked to sign up for the newsletter but heard nothing. Probably because we're renting, not buying! :rofl:

You might want to keep an eye out here (if I posted before, apologies):

http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/publis...ras0/tuas.html

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Yes, just looked.... looks like it used to, i.e. handful of bikes and nothing else! Hoorah!

I got another reply from LTA today saying my query needs more time!

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

UPDATE:

Things are back to normal.

GOOD NEWS:
Border Guard told me things are fine now because they have gone back to using the old software..... processing took too long with the new software, he said.

BAD NEWS (possibly):
Border Guard also told me that this is only "temporary" and the new software would be re-introduced, but he wasn't sure when.

I expect that we will stay with the old system while they try and fix the new one... I just hope they do some testing first, before they use us a Guinea Pigs!

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Thank you for the update geedee.

That's good news... Hopefully they'll implement even faster system!

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Hhmm.... going to keep an eye on the cameras tonight. Crossed back today at about 1600, on a bike, and it seemed much slower again! I asked the Guard if they were on the new software again and he said no..... fingers crossed... :fingerscrossed:

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

I got there at 5.30pm tonight and it was fine for bikes and cars. Same this morning at 8.30am - the only queue was the lorries and buses.

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That's good.... I must have picked the slow-coach lane today!

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Tried to go home to HH yesterday at 8 pm. Massive jams due to school holidays and it being Friday night. I think it cleared only after 11 pm.

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Hi Jeremy and welcome to the forum :) and welcome to traffic jams :(

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Chatting to a colleague at work today who uses Woodlands daily. He says things have been getting worse over recent months and there's a rumour surfacing.... the delays are intentional to discourage "living in Malaysia, working in S'pore"....

It certainly feels like it (especially when pitching up at Tuas when heavy traffic is expected and finding half the booths closed!) but it doesn't make any sense.... surely both Malaysia and S'pore want to encourage the Iskandar Experiment... after all most of the investment is from S'pore... isn't it?

Any thoughts or gossip??

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Hi Forum members, I just joined to participate in the discussions and get some information/help on the move to Nusajaya and the daily commute to Singas.

Hmmmm Geedee, I hope you are wrong about that as I will be joining you in the morning madness soon, also on the bike (B-King).

I'm hoping that the "image" of Singapore being super efficient and well organized will be more important than those few Singaporeans and expats that move to the other side and commute every day.

It should relieve pressure on the housing demand in Singapore making housing more affordable for people here.

Anyway, the house hunt is on still, another two rounds this weekend coming up !

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Good luck with the house hunting Eus! We spent months going back and forth before finally deciding on East Ledang.

I spoke to an older gentleman a few months ago - he lived in Singapore for years and has been living in Malaysia for a long time now. He says it's been like this for years - it's as if they do it just to wind up the other side. So I don't think it's a new thing. It's just so annoying when it could easily work so well.

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Today we kept an eye on it and the time it takes to get the passports scanned in the computer systems seems to take a lot longer in Singapore than in Malaysia. This is subjective by the way, not timed.

Also it seemed that Singapore had fewer booths open than Malaysia. Whether that is on purpose (to discourage people to go back and forth) or because Singapore has not enough people in the border security force, I don't know.

I don't think it makes sense for Singapore to create a bottleneck as they make a lot of money (taxes) on people working in Singapore and spending money in Singapore. I see a very "tight" housing market in Singapore so I don't see money disappearing, on the contrary, having affordable housing usually creates a positive economic force on the economy (more people can afford to live and work in your country making money). Then I'm not an economist, just an engineer :)

Today was fine going both ways with minimal delays

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Not if you were heading in about 1800.... say a kilometre at the Singapore entry side!! Luckily I was heading home....

Funny thing is my colleagues in S'pore (who maybe use the border once a month if that) are convinced that the problem is Malaysia. As a frequent user I can confirm that 99% of the time the problem is definitely Singapore Immigration. You're quite right about the booths being unmanned. Whether it's deliberate for some obscure political reason, or just totally rubbish planning is anyone's guess. The fact remains that it is very badly managed, and makes a mockery of this "Singapore Efficiency" myth.

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

This weekend there was little to complain for us. Both trips were smooth with the Malaysian side being faster (more booths open and less time to scan and stamp the passports). But we went at "good" times.

Re: Something wrong at the Singapore border?
 

Bet it will be busy this weekend eh?