http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,186793,00.html?
JB-bound motorists fume over $21 toll card
Confusion reigns as some think that's how much they have to pay to cross checkpoint
By Shree Ann Mathavan
December 15, 2008
PASS CARD: At the checkpoint, The New Paper on Sunday was sold only the RM50 card although Touch n Go said RM20 cards are also available at the booth. TNP PICTURE: GAVIN FOO
PAY RM50 ($21) just to enter Johor Baru?
Some Singapore motorists think they'll have to do so under a new cashless card system.
Malaysian authorities announced that only the 'Touch n Go' stored-value cards can be used to pay toll charges once the new customs immigration and quarantine facility - the Sultan Iskandar Complex - officially opens on Tuesday.
Motorists currently pay the RM2.90 toll with either Touch n Go cards or cash at the old terminal.
Signs announcing the sale of the cards - for RM50 each - have gone up there.
The amount consists of a RM10 deposit and RM40 of stored value. The cards can be bought and topped up right at the counter as you drive in.
You can also top them up at petrol stations, ATMs and specified retail outlets in Malaysia.
Most motorists we spoke to assumed that even if they were making a single trip to JB, they would have to fork out RM50. Taxi driver Yusof Yacob, 43, who visits Malaysia only once a year, said: 'It's not worth it if you don't visit Malaysia often.'
But that is not true. Operator Touch n Go told The New Paper on Sunday that motorists can also buy RM20 cards at the booth. And they can be topped up with amounts ranging from RM10 to RM500.
Ms Harnita Hakimi, the corporate communications manager at Touch n Go, explained that the RM50 value was promoted because Singaporeans tended to require more value.
Motorists interviewed by The New Paper on Sunday felt the signs were confusing and that they should be told that there are cheaper alternatives.
Miss Rebecca Tan, an executive research director, agreed that such information should be made clearer.
She said: 'It's more encouraging that they have lower denominations available. If not, I would have given JB a miss. Why should I pay RM50 when I don't drive up to Malaysia more than four times a year?'
The New Paper went through the JB checkpoint last weekend and bought a RM50 card from the counter.
Though we commented that this was expensive for a visit to JB, we were not offered a cheaper option. A receipt showed the breakdown of the price - with the stored value being RM40.
Some Singaporeans also found it a bother that they would have to carry one more card.
Mr Latiff Ibrahim, 50, a retiree, pointed out that Singaporeans already have to carry so many cards, including the CashCard for toll payments here.
To cut down on the number of cards, he suggested that the authorities on both sides of the Causeway agree to have a one-card system.
Malaysians driving into Singapore have to spend at least $10 on a CashCard (with a stored value of $5) to pay the $1.20 toll at the Causeway.
However, some motorists we spoke to gave the system the thumbs up.
Madam Ang Soh Boi, 55, a Malaysian real estate agent, felt the system would cut waiting time at the Causeway. She has been using the Touch n Go card for more than five years, not just at the Causeway but also at toll plazas along the North-South Highway.
Just like ez-link
She pointed out: 'It's just like the ez-link cards that Singaporeans use on buses and on the MRT.
'And during peak hours on the highway (which has dedicated toll lanes for those using the cards), it makes everything faster by as much as 20 minutes.'
The 11-year-old cashless system coupled with the new complex, which has 76 car lanes and 100 motorcycle lanes, aims to speed things up.
Johor state immigration director Mohd Nasri Ishak said: 'The Touch n Go system will smoothen and quicken the flow of traffic, so there will be less congestion.'
And RM50 is unlikely to be too much for many visiting Malaysia.
Madam Ang's son, Mr Roy Liew, 23, who works in a bank here and drives into Singapore daily, pointed out that it would be just enough to pay the toll for a trip to Malacca and back. 'It will be used up quickly,' he said.
Singaporean Doreen Ong, a business development associate director in her 30s, has been using the card for four years now, mainly for the convenience.
But despite being a regular user, she is sceptical that the new system will save much time.
'Officials still have to check the passports and, with many cars carrying four or five passengers, you have to wait for them to go through all the passports,' she said.
JB-bound motorists fume over $21 toll card
Confusion reigns as some think that's how much they have to pay to cross checkpoint
By Shree Ann Mathavan
December 15, 2008
PASS CARD: At the checkpoint, The New Paper on Sunday was sold only the RM50 card although Touch n Go said RM20 cards are also available at the booth. TNP PICTURE: GAVIN FOO
PAY RM50 ($21) just to enter Johor Baru?
Some Singapore motorists think they'll have to do so under a new cashless card system.
Malaysian authorities announced that only the 'Touch n Go' stored-value cards can be used to pay toll charges once the new customs immigration and quarantine facility - the Sultan Iskandar Complex - officially opens on Tuesday.
Motorists currently pay the RM2.90 toll with either Touch n Go cards or cash at the old terminal.
Signs announcing the sale of the cards - for RM50 each - have gone up there.
The amount consists of a RM10 deposit and RM40 of stored value. The cards can be bought and topped up right at the counter as you drive in.
You can also top them up at petrol stations, ATMs and specified retail outlets in Malaysia.
Most motorists we spoke to assumed that even if they were making a single trip to JB, they would have to fork out RM50. Taxi driver Yusof Yacob, 43, who visits Malaysia only once a year, said: 'It's not worth it if you don't visit Malaysia often.'
But that is not true. Operator Touch n Go told The New Paper on Sunday that motorists can also buy RM20 cards at the booth. And they can be topped up with amounts ranging from RM10 to RM500.
Ms Harnita Hakimi, the corporate communications manager at Touch n Go, explained that the RM50 value was promoted because Singaporeans tended to require more value.
Motorists interviewed by The New Paper on Sunday felt the signs were confusing and that they should be told that there are cheaper alternatives.
Miss Rebecca Tan, an executive research director, agreed that such information should be made clearer.
She said: 'It's more encouraging that they have lower denominations available. If not, I would have given JB a miss. Why should I pay RM50 when I don't drive up to Malaysia more than four times a year?'
The New Paper went through the JB checkpoint last weekend and bought a RM50 card from the counter.
Though we commented that this was expensive for a visit to JB, we were not offered a cheaper option. A receipt showed the breakdown of the price - with the stored value being RM40.
Some Singaporeans also found it a bother that they would have to carry one more card.
Mr Latiff Ibrahim, 50, a retiree, pointed out that Singaporeans already have to carry so many cards, including the CashCard for toll payments here.
To cut down on the number of cards, he suggested that the authorities on both sides of the Causeway agree to have a one-card system.
Malaysians driving into Singapore have to spend at least $10 on a CashCard (with a stored value of $5) to pay the $1.20 toll at the Causeway.
However, some motorists we spoke to gave the system the thumbs up.
Madam Ang Soh Boi, 55, a Malaysian real estate agent, felt the system would cut waiting time at the Causeway. She has been using the Touch n Go card for more than five years, not just at the Causeway but also at toll plazas along the North-South Highway.
Just like ez-link
She pointed out: 'It's just like the ez-link cards that Singaporeans use on buses and on the MRT.
'And during peak hours on the highway (which has dedicated toll lanes for those using the cards), it makes everything faster by as much as 20 minutes.'
The 11-year-old cashless system coupled with the new complex, which has 76 car lanes and 100 motorcycle lanes, aims to speed things up.
Johor state immigration director Mohd Nasri Ishak said: 'The Touch n Go system will smoothen and quicken the flow of traffic, so there will be less congestion.'
And RM50 is unlikely to be too much for many visiting Malaysia.
Madam Ang's son, Mr Roy Liew, 23, who works in a bank here and drives into Singapore daily, pointed out that it would be just enough to pay the toll for a trip to Malacca and back. 'It will be used up quickly,' he said.
Singaporean Doreen Ong, a business development associate director in her 30s, has been using the card for four years now, mainly for the convenience.
But despite being a regular user, she is sceptical that the new system will save much time.
'Officials still have to check the passports and, with many cars carrying four or five passengers, you have to wait for them to go through all the passports,' she said.
