JOHOR BARU, Jan 11 — The Johor government’s Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) operations task force will submit a proposed solutions to better coordinate the increased volume of outbound motorcycles since January 1, to shorten the average processing time during peak traffic hours.
KSAB operations task force chairman Cheo Yee How said with the recent abolishment in tolls on January 1, the Second Link Crossing at KSAB in Tanjung Kupang has reported an increase in motorcycle traffic.
He said authorities have reported a 30 per cent increase in outbound motorcycles using the Second Link Crossing to Singapore daily.
“We estimate that more than 42,000 motorcycles now uses the Second Link Crossing on a daily basis.
“Prior to the toll abolishment last year the average was 35,000 motorcycles a day,” said Cheo when contacted by Malay Mail.
In November last year, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng announced during the tabling of Budget 2019 that the government will abolish tolls for motorcyclists on the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link Crossing and Penang's First and Second Bridges effective January 1.
Cheo, who has been personally monitoring the issues at the Second Link Crossing, said the average processing and waiting time was still at 15 to 20 minutes for motorcyclists despite the increase in traffic after the toll abolishment.
He said most of the congestion only occurred for outbound traffic during the peak period of between 6.30am and 7.30am daily.
“The task force will proposed that the outbound motorcyclist can be diverted to the underutilised Counter B, which is located slightly further inside KSAB, to improve the motorcycle traffic flow.
“We hope to implement this soon in order to cut the average waiting time for outbound motorcyclist once the KSAB task force report is submitted to the state government,” said Cheo.
Cheo, who is also the Perling assemblyman, said other issues that will be proposed by the task force included a temporary area for inbound passenger and public buses using the Second Link Crossing.
At present, he said the buses are grouped together and share the same lanes as heavy vehicles which is not conducive for passengers.
“Our suggestion is for the buses to temporarily make use of the open land in the inbound side of KSAB to better coordinate the buses,” said Cheo.
The Second Link Crossing, located in Tanjung Kupang near Gelang Patah, is one of two land routes connecting Johor and Singapore. The other is the busier Johor Causeway that is connected to JB Sentral in Johor Baru.
It is estimated that more than 450,000 people enter and exit Singapore from Johor via both the Johor Causeway in Johor Baru and the Second Link Crossing on a daily basis, in what can be described as one of the region’s busiest border crossings.
