January 02, 2023, 05:11 PM
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Passengers travelling to Singapore from Johor Bahru by bus from Larkin Sentral Bus Terminal are being charged an additional RM1 (S$0.30) beginning Jan. 1, 2023.
Facilities charge
A notice about the charge was put up as early as Dec. 27, according to Land Transport Guru.
However, Larkin Sentral has not said anything about the change on social media.
The charge appears to only affect those using bus services that cross the Causeway, such as bus service 170, Causeway Link CWL, and Singapore-Johore Express (SJE).
According to RailTravel Station, a transport blog, a ticket gate has also been installed.
QR code passes may be bought at the station via the Touch 'n Go eWallet.
RailTravel Station additionally warned that commuters can expect for there to be significant queues at Larkin Sentral Bus Terminal.
Cost of living
According to Oriental Daily, a Malaysian Chinese language news site, local Johorian politician Koo Shiaw Lee has hit out against the fee.
Highlighting that the bus terminal was used for several domestic busses in addition to its cross-border services, Koo said it was unfair to levy the charges only on cross-border travellers.
In addition, the charge was unjustifiable, he said, as the facilities in the bus terminal had not been improved.
He also called the charge outrageous, and said he did not believe passengers would accept it.
Koo, who is from the Gerakan party, part of the opposition Perikatan Nasional coalition, also cited the current period of increased cost of living, calling the authorities who approved the charge out of touch.
He said the increase in cost would add up to a significant amount for regular travellers.
Appealing to a higher power
These charges come amidst a steady stream of complaints about the state of the station and the system in place.
Some Malaysian social media users, after seeing the impact new Transport Minister Anthony Loke's visit to Kuala Lumpur's train system had made, have appealed to him to visit Larkin and address its own issues.
Loke's surprise inspection of the Kuala Lumpur light rapid transit (LRT) system appears to have prompted some quick repairs.
This escalator outside the Dang Wangi LRT station has been spoilt for a few years.
— CIKY🅰️NIE (@lady_bugg11) December 10, 2022
See how fast things move when you have a fantastic minister! Anthony Loke Siew Fook pic.twitter.com/xLIE7iwYFJ
One prominent complaint about Larkin Sentral is the conversion charge the bus terminal charges for printing tickets booked online.
@anthonyloke would appreciate it if you could help with bus system at bus station. Sudah beli tiket online, tetap kena tukar tiket, lepastu kena charge rm2 masa tukar tiket. Katanya admin fee? Tapi beli tiket online pun ada admin fee?? Sistem apa niii
— Her ⎊ (@blairdays_) December 13, 2022
Cc: larkin sentral
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Top image via Larkin Sentral/Facebook
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