Bus Drivers Refusing To Pay New Johor Causeway Toll Rates Cause Early Morning Havoc
Traffic was at a standstill from Johor to Singapore early this morning as bus drivers protest against the 400% increase in toll rate.
By Mei Mei Chu — 01 Aug 2014, 03:42 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
Malaysian Bus Drivers Entering Singapore Went On Strike Against The Johor Causeway Toll Rate Hike Outside The Johor Bahru Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Early This Morning
Private buses refusing to pay the increased toll at the Johor Bahru Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) centre this morning wreaked havoc with the traffic at the causeway this morning.
malaysiakini.comAccording to Singapore's Zaobao, the 'bas kilang' that ferry workers to Singapore daily "went on strike" at 5am when told to pay the new rate at a 470 per cent increase.
malaysiakini.comStarting 1 August 2014, The Johor-Singapore Causeway Toll Rate Was Increased By Over 400 Percent
Motorists travelling to Singapore via the Causeway must now pay a total of RM16.50 for inbound and outbound toll charges at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex. A spokesman from the Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) Expressway said that the new toll rates started at 12.01am on Friday.
thestar.com.my
All charges must be paid electronically at both sides using Touch 'n' Go cards, with cash payments no longer possible.
thestar.com.myThe Announcement Of The New Toll Rates Also Forces Those Who Do Not Use The Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) To Also Pay The High Toll Charges
ST journalist Lim Yan Liang taps a Touch N Go card upon entering through the toll at Johor Bahru, with the new toll of RM9.70 being deducted, at around 1am on 1 August, 2014.
Image via straitstimes.comA controversy erupted following the decision to impose toll collection at the CIQ as it forces those who do not use the Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) but want to travel to Singapore to also pay the charges.
thestar.com.myThe EDL is an elevated highway built to help disperse traffic heading into the Johor Baru city area. There are several exits from the EDL, with the last leading directly into the CIQ complex. Motorists using the elevated 8.6km highway are not tolled if they do not go through the CIQ complex.
thestar.com.myMalaysian Highway Authority director-general Datuk Ismail Mohd Salleh said the revised rates were appropriate given the facilities and services enjoyed by users that travelled to the complex from the Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL), the elevated highway built to disperse traffic towards Johor Baru town.
themalaysianinsider.com
Bus Drivers Refused To Pay The New Toll Rate And Caused A Massive Jam On The Causeway. They Stopped Outside The Johor Checkpoint And Would Not Budge.
Bus service across the Causeway into Singapore was restored after drivers ended an early morning strike on August 1, 2014.
Image via themalaymailonline.comTheir refusal to budge caused a massive traffic jam that spread across to the Singapore checkpoint. "We are outside of CIQ with bas kilang drivers who refused to pay new toll. They caused a massive jam since 5am.
malaysiakini.com
One caller said that many Malaysian registration buses carrying factory workers refused to continue their journey to Singapore at the Woodlands.
Passengers, Mostly Factory Workers Who Commute To Singapore Daily, Were Forced To Walk Across The Causeway To Get To Singapore
Scores of Malaysian factory workers travelling to Singapore were forced to walk across the Causeway after factory buses refused to cross the checkpoint following the implementation of new toll charges Friday.
thestar.com.my"Hundreds of workers were forced to walk and this is because the buses just did not want to go through," he said. He added that the groups of people started walking across the Causeway as early as 5am.
thestar.com.myCustoms And Police Officers Promised To Announce A Decision On The New Toll In A Week's Time But The Bus Drivers Threatened To Hold A Huge Protest If The Decision Is Unacceptable
"Customs and police (officers) told them to either enter or leave, but promised to announce a decision on the new toll in a week's time. "The bas kilang drivers promised a huge protest a week later if the decision/announcement is not acceptable," posted Johor PKR leader Steven Choong on his Facebook this morning.
malaysiakini.comThe plan to increase toll charges at Johor's main border checkpoint sparked an outcry among some Malaysians, who felt that the cost was too high for those who work in Singapore and have to cross the Causeway daily.
The Strike Left Hundreds Of Workers And School Children Stranded At The Johor Checkpoint. The Buses Only Resumed Full Service Across Into Singapore At 9.40am.
Malaysian bus drivers resumed full service across into Singapore at about 9.40am today, ending an early morning strike that left hundreds of workers and schoolchildren stranded at the Johor checkpoint.
themalaymailonline.com
In a Twitter message posted about 9am, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) said, “Bus service 160, 170, 170X and 950 have resumed normal operations into Johor Bahru”.
themalaymailonline.com
In an earlier advisory to Singapore news agencies at 8.05am, the LTA said the bus services were halted until further notice due to a “protest against increase in Malaysian toll fees by Malaysian bus operators which impeded flow of bus traffic through the Johor Bahru Checkpoint”.
themalaymailonline.com