Before their hiatus, these operators were often seen at Larkin Sentral, a bus terminal in Johor Bahru with services to the city-state, where they earned as much as RM3,300 (US$780) a day providing illegal cross-border trips using premium multi-purpose vehicles valued at over RM500,000 each.
They have now returned to the same spot but are operating differently, The Star reported.
Safarudin Abu Bakar, a 44-year-old licensed taxi driver who has been driving the Johor Bahru–Singapore route for 13 years, told the Malaysian newspaper that the touts have switched to sedans to avoid being detected by Singapore’s Land Transport Authority.
He added that their fares had also gone up to S$35 (US$26.8) per passenger from S$30.
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Vehicles form a long queue to enter Woodlands checkpoint in Singapore on March 17, 2020 from across the causeway of the southern Malaysian state of Johor. Photo by AFP |
Johor Bahru lies across the border from Singapore and is connected to the city-state by the Johor–Singapore Causeway, which is used daily by many Malaysians commuting to work and Singaporeans looking for cheaper goods and services.
