Peak and Off-peak Waiting and Clearance Times at Singapore-Malaysia Land Checkpoints
Ministry of Home AffairsSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the peak and off-peak waiting times at land checkpoints and Assoc Prof Walter Theseira’s request for published hourly traffic data to aid commuter planning. Minister K Shanmugam stated that 400,000 travellers cross daily, with peak waits reaching 1.5 hours on weekdays and exceeding two hours during festive periods. He highlighted that unpredictable factors like accidents and tailbacks from Johor influence flow, and that real-time information is currently disseminated through radio, social media, and Land Transport Authority platforms. While these tools help travellers plan journeys, the Minister noted that compiling and publishing granular hourly and daily traffic data may not be useful or meaningful. Instead, travellers are encouraged to use live CCTVs and navigation apps alongside existing broad traffic trends to manage their travel times effectively.
Transcript
6 Assoc Prof Walter Theseira asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the peak and off-peak waiting and clearance times at Singapore-Malaysia land checkpoints; and (b) whether the Ministry can publish data on daily and hourly average traffic volumes, waiting times and clearance times to improve accountability and allow commuters and businesses to plan ahead.
Mr K Shanmugam: The Woodlands and Tuas land checkpoints are among the busiest in the world. Every day, around 400,000 travellers cross them. Weekday traffic is usually highest from 5 am to 10 am and 5 pm to 9 pm. The waiting time at the Singapore checkpoints can go up to 1.5 hours during peak periods, and 30 minutes during non-peak periods. This does not include the time needed to clear immigration in Malaysia.
The waiting time increases significantly during school holidays, festive periods and long weekends, and could go beyond two hours.
Other unpredictable factors also affect the waiting time. These include traffic accidents, vehicle breakdowns, security incidents and traffic tailbacks from Johor.
ICA provides real-time checkpoint traffic updates via local radio stations, social media platforms, and LTA's Expressway Monitoring Advisory System signage. Travellers can also check the checkpoint traffic conditions via live CCTVs on LTA's OneMotoring website, or via commercial navigation apps that provide estimated travel times.
These real-time updates, and the broad traffic trends I had mentioned earlier, should help travellers plan their journey. It may not be useful or meaningful to compile and publish data on an hourly and daily basis.