The most iconic time of the year is here. And we’re not talking about Christmas or the New Year.
Singapore’s causeway traffic to Johor Bahru is a traditional rite of passage that all commuters braving the massive jams have to deal with every festive season.
We’ll definitely be closing 2019 with a bang, since traffic is expected to be as heavy as our rainfall till Jan 2020.
It’s even a yearly tradition, with ICA racketing up 59 PSA posts by 17 Dec last year.
Thanks to a hardworking Facebook page manager at Immigrations & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), we’ve been getting daily traffic updates.
So far, we’ve counted more than 40 ‘heavy traffic’ updates at both Tuas & Woodlands checkpoints in Nov alone.
This was followed by at least 30 posts on ‘traffic backflows’ in Dec.
Most of them are posted daily, and on some occasions — multiple times a day.
All of the posts usually end in the same way, as pointed out by netizens. A commenter even made a hilarious prediction on 10 Dec’s AM advisory, before traffic had even subsided.
Others have grown understandably frustrated at the frequency of the “backflow traffic”, or heavy “arrival traffic” calling it the “same old story”.
After scrolling through multiple posts, we think we’ve distilled the essence of a regular ICA Johor Bahru traffic PSA,
Heavy departure traffic at Woodlands Checkpoint due to backflow of traffic from Malaysia. Delays are expected. Travellers are advised to check ONE MOTORING WEBSITE before embarking on their journey.
The key points of the message are in bold, usually asking commuters to expect a “backflow of traffic from Malaysia”, resulting in expected delays.
Travellers are then advised to monitor the One Motoring website religiously before embarking on their journey.
Rinse and repeat, at least twice daily.
If last year’s trends are mirrored this year, we can expect that these traffic conditions won’t be improving till mid-Jan 2020, at the close of the holiday season.
Also, do try to avoid peak hours from 7am-10am and 5pm-10pm — although that’s quite unrealistic for those who are commuting between work and home daily.
For the rest of us who fall under ‘non-essential travel’, do rethink your JB road trip or at least hold off till next year — if you don’t want to spend 4-5 hours waiting in line along the Causeway.
Though the job of reposting traffic updates isn’t the most interesting assignment in the world, we’re glad ICA is keeping the public well-informed with their timely posts.
As we close out the new year, let’s remember to pray for patience for those who have to deal with heavy JB traffic daily.
They’re actually the people who need a Christmas miracle the most. Something like a 3rd link or high speed rail perhaps?
Until that happens, safe travels everyone!
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Featured image from Immigrations & Checkpoints Authority of Singapore on Facebook and EdgeProp.
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