Cross-Border Services

Cross-border bus services refer to public bus services plying between Singapore and Malaysia. They operate daily, catering to high volumes of cross-border passengers travelling between the two countries. These bus services are especially crowded during the weekday peak hours as Malaysia residents commute to and from Singapore for work, and on weekends when leisure travellers from Singapore head to and from Malaysia.

There are two road links between Singapore and Malaysia, namely the Johor–Singapore Causeway and Tuas Second Link, with the former being more popular due to its proximity to the city of Johor Bahru. Public bus services serve both road crossings and have immigration checkpoints at each side. The Causeway is served by Woodlands Checkpoint (Singapore) and Sultan Iskandar CIQ Complex (Malaysia), while the Tuas Second Link is served by Tuas Checkpoint (Singapore) and Sultan Abu Bakar CIQ Complex (Malaysia).

Most services operate between 5 am and midnight, with only CW2 between Queen Street and JB CIQ operating 24 hours a day.

Cross-Border Procedure

At each checkpoint, all passengers must alight from the bus at the designated alighting point, and proceed through immigration checks before re-boarding the bus. Customs processes for both Singapore and Malaysia are carried out at their respective checkpoints.

When re-boarding a bus after customs clearance, passengers can continue their journeys on the same group of bus services without incurring a new ride. For Singapore buses, tapping out at a checkpoint and tapping back onto any similar public transport bus service (160, 170, 170X or 950) will continue the journey. As for Causeway Link, journeys across the Causeway can be done on any bus service (both cash and Manjalink).

Currently, cross-border services are operated by several Singapore and Malaysian bus operators, namely:

  • SBS Transit (160, 170, 170X)
  • SMRT Buses (950)
  • Ridewell Travel (AC7)
  • Causeway Link (CW-prefixed routes)
  • Transtar Travel (TS-prefix routes)
  • Singapore-Johore Express (SJE)

List of cross-border bus routes:

The most frequent cross-border services between Singapore and Johor Bahru are available at Woodlands Crossing (Causeway), which leads straight into Johor Bahru city. Alternately, some bus services head via the Tuas Second Link, which serves the western parts of Johor including the Gelang Patah, Nusajaya and Bukit Indah areas.

Service Route
160 Jurong Town Hall Interchange ↺ JB Sentral Terminal
via Choa Chu Kang / Bukit Panjang · Woodlands Rd · Kranji MRT · Woodlands Checkpoint · JB CIQ
170 Queen Street Terminal – Larkin Terminal
via Bukit Timah · Upper Bukit Timah · Woodlands Rd · Kranji MRT · Woodlands Checkpoint · JB CIQ
170X Kranji MRT – JB Sentral Terminal
via Woodlands Checkpoint · JB CIQ
950 Woodlands Interchange ↺ JB Sentral Terminal
via Marsling MRT · Woodlands Checkpoint · JB CIQ · JB Sentral
AC7 Yishun Interchange – JB CIQ
via Sembawang MRT · Woodlands Checkpoint · JB CIQ
CW1 Kranji MRT – JB CIQ
via Woodlands Checkpoint
to/from Larkin Terminal via connecting bus service CWL
CW2 Queen Street Terminal – JB CIQ
via Woodlands Checkpoint
to/from Larkin Terminal via connecting bus service CWL
CW3 Jurong East – Perling Mall
via Tuas Checkpoint · CIQ Second Link · Bukit Indah
(CW3L) Perling Mall – CIQ Second Link
(CW3S) CIQ Second Link – Terminal Taman Ungku Tun Aminah (TUTA)
via Bukit Indah · Sutera Mall
(CW3E) CIQ Second Link – Larkin Terminal via Bukit Indah (Currently suspended)
CW4 Jurong East – Pontian
via Tuas Checkpoint · CIQ Second Link · Gelang Patah · Pekan Nanas
(CW4G) Terminal Gelang Patah – CIQ Second Link
via Gelang Patah · Taman Nusantara · Nusa Perintis
CW4S Jurong East – Sutera Mall
via Tuas Checkpoint · CIQ Second Link · Gelang Patah · Lima Kedai · Taman Ungku Tun Aminah
CW5 JB CIQ – Newton Circus
via Woodlands Checkpoint
to/from Larkin Terminal via connecting bus service CWL
CW6 Boon Lay – CIQ Second Link
CW7
Tuas Link MRT – CIQ Second Link 
(CW7L) Hotel Ramada Meridin – CIQ Second Link
via Sunway Big Box · Mall of Medini
   
SJE Queen Street Terminal – Larkin Terminal
via Woodlands Checkpoint · JB CIQ
TSL Woodlands Checkpoint – JB CIQ
TS1 Changi Airport – JB CIQ
via Airport Terminal 2 · Woodlands MRT · Marsiling MRT · Woodlands Checkpoint
TS6 Buona Vista MRT – Gelang Patah Sentral
via one-North MRT · Kent Ridge MRT · AYE · Jln Ahmad Ibrahim · Gul Circle MRT · Tuas West Road MRT · Tuas Link MRT · Tuas Checkpoint · CIQ Second Link
TS8 Resorts World Sentosa – JB CIQ
via Cantonment Link · Outram Park MRT · Great World · Scotts/Stevens/Whitley Road · Woodlands Checkpoint

For Woodlands Crossing (Causeway), the checkpoints on both sides are referred to as Woodlands Checkpoint (Singapore) and JB CIQ (Malaysia). For Tuas Second Link, the checkpoints on both sides are Tuas Checkpoint (Singapore) and CIQ Second Link (Malaysia).

Usually, the bus journey between checkpoints (i.e. Woodlands Checkpoint – JB CIQ; Tuas Checkpoint – CIQ 2nd Link) can be made on any service operated by the bus operator which you have a valid ticket on. For example, if one arrives at Woodlands CIQ on Service 170, one can board any of SBS Transit’s service 160, 170 or 170X bus across the Causeway without counting as a transfer (or SMRT Bus Service 950 as well). This also applies to Causeway Link services across the Causeway and Tuas Second Link.

See also: Woodlands CIQ Complex, Sultan Iskandar CIQ Complex, Tuas CIQ ComplexSultan Abu Bakar CIQ Complex


Route Diagrams


External Links:

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2 thoughts on “Cross-Border Services

  • 17 March 2024 at 2:47 PM
    Permalink

    178 can amend to jb sentral and become a cross border service. Lost sectors can be covered by amending 950, whose local sectors is duplicating 856.

    Reply
  • 14 April 2022 at 3:22 PM
    Permalink

    I saw ManA22 euro 6 SG1859X have SPAD registration(sbs)!
    operated on service 131 14 April 2022 2.13

    Reply

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