Getting to Johor Bahru from Singapore by Bus

If you’re fed up with the frustrating traffic jams when driving up to Johor Bahru, here’s another alternative- why not take the bus to JB?

We head up to JB a few times a year simply because we find that it’s a more economical “staycation”. With our favourable exchange rate, about S$1 to Rm$3, a family can certainly enjoy a fair bit of savings for entertainment and dining. 

READ ALSO: Austin Heights Water and Adventure Park in JB 

On our recent visit to JB, we decided to take the public bus. I had my reservations initially and stared hard at hubby when he suggested that. 

Can we manage with our luggage? 

Are the buses clean?

Will it be very crowded and will we be stuck in a jam with the rest of the cars? 

But surprise, surprise, it was not too shabby a ride.

Taking the bus to JB from Singapore

There are two route you can use to take the bus to JB either from Singapore Woodlands Checkpoint or Tuas Checkpoint. 

We went with Woodlands since we were staying at Doubletree by Hilton, which is close to JB Sentral. 

READ ALSO: Where to stay in JB

At Singapore Woodlands Checkpoint

We took an Uber to Woodlands Checkpoint from our home. Upon arrival, we proceed to the Checkpoint building. We tried our luck to purchase last minute train tickets but the next available ride was half a day later at 4pm.

We made our way up the lift with our luggage which we kept to a minimum since we were only going for 3days. It took us 20 minutes to clear Singapore immigration and this was considered fast since it was still the second Hari Raya weekend.

After that was done, we took a quick toilet break because you don’t want to turn blue from holding in your pee while you’re in a bus on the causeway.

Here you want to make sure you queue for the right bus. There a separate queue for the SBS bus and CW bus.

The CW bus or Causeway Link bus is a cross-border service operated by Malaysian bus operator and it picks up passengers from Kranji MRT Station, Queen Street, Newton Circus and Jurong to get to Woodlands Checkpoint. For more information, you can read about it here.  

If you didn’t take the CW to get to Woodlands Checkpoint, then queue for either Bus No. 160 or 170 as both buses will have to stop at JB Sentral Checkpoint. Bus No. 160 starts from Jurong East Interchange (beside the Jurong East MRT and Bus No. comes from Kranji MRT .

Bus fare: S$1.93 (With EZ-Link card); $2.50 (Cash).

 

Sophie saw the above poster of prohibited items and joking told me, Sorry no ninjas on the bus allowed.

If you’re heading to JB, don’t miss these posts where I share some of my shopping finds and places to go cafe hopping across the causeway as well.

• Singapore to JB in 5 minutes by the KTM Shuttle – Our best kept secret!
• Fun for kids in JB –Legoland Water Park, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
• Where else to stay in JB? Somerset Medini Nusajaya, Johor, Review
• Cafe hopping in Johor Bahru

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