With the festive season coming this weekend, Singapore’s Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) recently shared that there will be an expected 430,000 daily commuters at the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints during the Chinese New Year. This is almost 10% more than the expected daily commutes of 400,000 during non peak period.
According to ICA, a huge surge of outgoing traffic is expected from February 4 (Thursday) to February 7 (Sunday), while heavy incoming traffic is expected from February 9 (Tuesday) to February 14 (Sunday).
Travellers are advised to adjust their travel plans accordingly. Motorists are also advised to check on the traffic situation at both land checkpoints before embarking on their journey.
Here are some tips by ICA if you really need to travel during this peak period:
- Travellers are encouraged to car-pool where possible.
- Drivers should maintain lane discipline at all times.
- Eligible users (Singaporeans, Singapore Permanent Residents and Long Term Pass holders) are encouraged to use the enhanced Immigration Automated Clearance System (eIACS) lanes at the bus halls for immigration clearance.
- Travellers are to ensure that they are carrying their own and valid passports before presenting them for immigration clearance at the checkpoints; and
- Travellers are to make sure that they do not bring unlawful or prohibited goods into or out of Singapore. The list of controlled and prohibited items can be found on ICA’s website http://www.ica.gov.sg
#1 Checkpoint.sg
To get a sense of traffic situation, here’s a website for you in case you have not heard about it: Checkpoint.sg
Checkpoint.sg shows you the traffic condition of all major roads in and out of the Woodlands and Tuas check point, and has been used by commuters across the Straits to get a sense of traffic situation.
#2 CausewayJam.com
Another relatively new website was just launched too – Causeway Jam. Causeway Jam helps predict traffic jams at Causeway and Tuas checkpoint. It combines Google Map’s data, traffic cams and statistics collected over a few months to predict the jam situation over the next 3 hours so that users can plan their journey to avoid the peak jam.
Here’s a look at the site:
#3 SG TrafficLeh (Beta)
SG TrafficLeh is developed by the same group of people behind SG BusLeh. It shows traffic cameras at checkpoints such as Woodlands Causeway, Tuas Second Link, as well as Expressways and Highways. You can also see the Malaysia side of the checkpoints at Woodlands Causeway and Tuas Second Link.
The plus point for SG TrafficLeh app is that it intelligently predicts and pre-load all traffic camera images so that you don’t have to wait for images to load.
Downloads: App Store | Play Store
So there you have it, 3 websites that will give you a visual of the traffic condition across the Straits as well as the expected time.
Happy Chinese New Year in advance!
