article About Cheapest drive to Johor from Singapore - (all-vga-corner)

From 1 Oct 2014, the toll charges in Causeway have increased and it is no longer economical to drive to Johor Bahru town centre.  The traffic is still crowded during peak hours but one thing is certain: no one with a sound mind will drive in just to pump petrol or take a meal especially he is alone.  Having said that, it is still worthwhile if the car has 4 or 5 passengers to share the costs.

Straits Times reported that there is a saving of 30% incentive (S$9.40) to use the second link (http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/transport/story/second-link-traffic-likely-increase-higher-causeway-tolls-kick-201409).  However, the maths just simply does not add up.  Perhaps it is a misunderstanding on their part or they listen to the wrong advice.

One may wonder which option is the cheapest to drive to Johor now with second link thrown in.   Below chart can be your reference:

From the table, you will save S$1.50 by driving to Johor via Second Link and return via Causeway.  By factoring the petrol costs and possible toll charges between the 2 destinations, the net saving may vanish altogether.

The Malaysian authority has accurately priced the toll charges in Causeway in anticipation of Singapore's move to equal its tolls.  In general, it costs S$11.50 to 13.70 to make a round trip.

article About Singapore and Malaysia Tolls - (all-vga-corner)

470% Toll Hike for Class 1

Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) announced all vehicles (including Malaysian cars) passing through (Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) will be paying a higher toll charge from 1 Aug 2014.

For sedan cars travelling to JB and back to Singapore, the hike is 468.97% (RM2.90 to RM16.50).  The breakdown is RM9.70 for inbound and RM6.80 for outbound.  Malaysian cars are no exceptions.

Currency	MYR					S$	%
Class	Old (inbound)	New (inbound)	New (outbound)	Total New	Net Increase		Increase
1	RM2.90	RM9.70	RM6.80	RM16.50	RM13.60	$5.33	468.97%
2	RM4.50	RM14.70	RM10.20	RM24.90	RM20.40	$8.00	453.33%
3	RM6.10	RM19.70	RM13.60	RM33.30	RM27.20	$10.67	445.90%
4	RM1.40	RM4.80	RM3.40	RM8.20	RM6.80	$2.67	485.71%
5	RM2.30	RM7.80	RM5.50	RM13.30	RM11.00	$4.31	478.26%

Malaysians who travelled to Singapore to work daily and drive back to sleep are heavily slapped on the new hike.  If you are not aware, the morning queue into Singapore at both customs are very bad as many Malaysians are rushing in as early as 4:30am.  Some Singaporeans who have relocated to Malaysia are also commuting into Singapore to work daily.

Another increase coming: Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP)

The above toll charges are not to be confused with VEP, which is only meant for foreign vehicles (such as Singapore cars).  Since Singapore government has announced the new VEP rate of S$35.00 for non-Singapore vehicles entering into Singapore, Malaysian government has not fixed the price yet.

Coming next: Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) Toll

At the moment, EDL is still free for use.  EDL is useful for driving direct to KL or nearby cities bypassing the crowded Johor Bahru city area.  So far, no toll has been announced but it is always on the chart for extra income.  Even Malaysians are confused why the new toll hike is presumed to supplement the construction of EDL in 2003.  Let's wait for more details.

Conclusions

So far, it seems S$5.33 increase (Total: S$6.47) is still affordable for many Singaporeans.  With the 3/4 fuel tank restrictions, either you stop going in or you can just buy and eat more to make up for the S$5.33 toll before you pay more to drive into Malaysia.  Once the VEP details are clearer, we will update the new rates for reference.

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