Swarms of people walk across Causeway from JB to skip long bus queue after 3-day weekend

Like scenes from a zombie movie.

Julia Yee | June 17, 2024, 09:10 PM

Telegram

Whatsapp

People returning to Singapore from Malaysia on Hari Raya Haji were greeted by the unwelcome — but not unexpected — sight of long queues.

Photo via XX on jb/sg custom human traffic/Telegram

The budding crowd seemed to begin forming around 1pm onwards on Monday, Jun. 17, which marked the end of the long weekend.

People in the Telegram group "jb/sg custom human traffic" posted foreboding photos showing the growing human traffic as the day wore on.

Long queues

In case you weren't there and want the immersive experience, here's the POV of someone waiting to clear immigration on the Johor Bahru side at around 2:45pm:

Image via James on jb/sg custom human traffic/Telegram.

And another at 4pm:

Photo via Benny Lim on jb/sg custom human traffic/Telegram.

And another at 5:30pm:

Photo from Mothership reader.

People in cars outside weren't faring much better, with the Woodlands Checkpoint looking like this from 3pm onwards:

Photo via Land Transport Authority.

Loooong queues

And if you were to clear the automated immigration gates, which — according to a Mothership reader — took roughly 10 minutes from the time they joined the queue at 5:30pm, you'd be in for even more waiting.

The queue for the bus to Woodlands checkpoint snaked across two levels, said the reader.

Photos and videos of the scene showed a haphazard gathering of people straining forward in an attempt to get to the bus bays.

Gif from Mothership reader.

"Got a lot of queues, don't know where the queue is," one traveller lamented.

Ended up walking

Turned off by the queues, many decided to forgo the buses and trust their feet instead.

Thus appeared a horde of people trudging in unison across the causeway, Singapore-bound.

Gif from Mothership reader.

One video showed the trail walking against the flow of traffic.

Gif via Calvin czj on jb/sg custom human traffic/Telegram.

Many people reported that they took about 20 minutes to walk across the causeway.

It was said to be an "okay" affair, with many citing relatively pleasant weather conditions.

Image via ming on jb/sg custom human traffic/Telegram.

One person updated the Telegram group:

"I walked over at about 5pm. No sun, strong breeze. If not raining, highly recommended walking vs waiting for the bus."

Related story

Top images via jb/sg custom human traffic on Telegram