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Jean Iau

Nearly every Sunday, consultant Toh Jia Jie and his wife leave their new flat in Singapore and drive north across the border to Johor for a day of cheaper shopping, pickleball and massages before returning past midnight on Monday morning.
Toh, 30, is among the close to 245 million travellers who passed through Singapore’s checkpoints last year, a record high.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Monday that figure represented a 6.3 per cent increase – about 14 million more travellers – compared with 2024.
About three-quarters of that volume moved through Singapore’s land checkpoints with Malaysia, reflecting the steady flow of cross-border commuting, leisure trips and everyday travel between the city state and Johor.

ICA said it cleared almost 84.8 million vehicles last year, an increase of 9.5 per cent, or about 7 million more than in 2024.
Singapore has two land links with Malaysia: the century-old Johor-Singapore Causeway and the Malaysia–Singapore Second Link, opened in 1998.
The 1km (0.6-mile) long causeway, which links directly into the state capital of Johor Bahru, is renowned for being one of the busiest international border crossings in the world, carrying a continuous flow of people and commodities in either direction.
The ICA said that on December 19, the Friday before Christmas last year, a record number of close to 589,000 land crossings in a single day was recorded, surpassing the previous high of over 578,000 recorded six months earlier on June 20.
Motorists who spoke to This Week in Asia said cheaper goods, petrol and leisure activities continued to draw them across the causeway, even if it meant enduring bottlenecks.
“My flat was ready, so we did quite a bit of furniture and lighting shopping in Johor, where prices are generally more affordable compared to Singapore. More recently, I’ve also been driving in regularly to play pickleball, as Johor has better availability and more cost-effective facilities,” Toh said.


The longest he had been stuck in traffic was about two hours, he said, and this was when returning from Johor during long weekends or public holidays.
“If we already have plans during a peak period, we generally accept that traffic will be heavier and plan around it – for example, having a later supper or getting a massage before heading back. In our experience, traffic tends to ease off after around 1 to 2am,” he said.
Shortened processing times
The introduction of the QR code scanning at the land checkpoints, which was fully implemented last year, was a welcomed change for Toh as it shortened immigration processing time. Malaysia has also rolled out a similar system through the MyNIISE app.
But adoption remains a challenge. “If more travellers, especially those using high-occupancy vehicles, complete pre-clearance before reaching the checkpoint, overall throughput would improve and traffic could be managed more efficiently on both sides,” he said.
Retired construction manager David Chua, 67, who has been a regular motorist across the causeway for the past decade and owns a house in Johor, said he had been stuck in traffic for three hours before when there were insufficient gantries opened for cars.
He suggested it could be useful to show motorists how many counters were open at each zone at the checkpoints.

Chua said he avoided the weekend traffic by entering the southern Malaysian state on Thursdays and leaving on Saturdays.
“I prefer the slow pace of life and enjoy the lifestyle with better food and less crowded malls,” he added.
To mitigate traffic congestion, ICA said last July it was planning to roll out an Automated Passenger Clearance System at the Tuas checkpoint from the end of this year, so travellers in cars, motorcycles and cargo trucks would not need to exit their vehicle.
Also slated for December is the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link, which can carry up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction, with each journey taking about five minutes.
Furthermore, there are plans to redevelop and expand the causeway over the next 10 to 15 years to improve efficiency.

Security security checks can be conducted away from the core checkpoint structure to mitigate security risks, according to the ICA. It will also provide holding areas to reduce congestion and cut the average travel time during peak hours from an hour to 15 minutes.
Last month, tens of thousands of travellers were left stranded at Malaysia’s two main land checkpoints with Singapore after a major system failure shut down most automated immigration gates, causing hour-long queues.
Foreign visitors reportedly waited up to two hours for clearance at the Sultan Iskandar Building Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex in Johor Bahru.
A similar incident last July disabled autogates at multiple checkpoints across Malaysia, affecting more than 380,000 foreign visitors.


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About three-quarters of the record 245 million travellers who crossed Singapore’s checkpoints last year went via the land border


About three-quarters of the record 245 million travellers who crossed Singapore’s checkpoints last year went via the land border.


Malaysia

Cross-border trips to Johor push Singapore checkpoint traffic to record high in 2025

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}About three-quarters of the record 245 million travellers who crossed Singapore’s checkpoints last year went via the land border

About three-quarters of the record 245 million travellers who crossed Singapore’s checkpoints last year went via the land border