Heavy traffic is expected at the Singapore-Malaysia land checkpoints over the upcoming Labour Day long weekend, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Thursday (Apr 27).
ICA said it anticipates heavy traffic from Friday to Tuesday, advising those who wish to travel via the Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints to factor in additional waiting time for immigration clearance.
During a similar long weekend over Good Friday this year, ICA said close to 1.4 million travellers crossed the land checkpoints, with an average of about 350,000 crossings per day.
ICA added that it noted long queues of passengers and cars waiting to clear departure, coupled with continuous tailbacks from Malaysia a day before the start of the long weekend.
“Travellers departing by car should expect waiting times of up to three hours for peak periods over long weekends, similar to pre-COVID days,” said the authority.
Singapore residents and eligible first-time foreign visitors including Malaysians who are travelling by bus can clear immigration via the automated lanes at the passenger halls.
ICA said this initiative was introduced to alleviate the traffic situation and improve travellers’ experience. More officers can also be “deployed dynamically” to areas at the car and motorcycle zones to help manage traffic congestion.
The authority previously said that it had increased the number of automated lanes to 40 at both Woodlands and Tuas Checkpoints since May 2022.
