Empty Johor Bahru streets are the “ONLY good thing with VEP” — Singaporean says “JB looks like a scene from the pandemic once more”

SINGAPORE: On the first day of the implementation of the Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP), motorists shared photos of empty roads going into Johor Bahru, and one Singaporean even quipped that it was the “ONLY” good thing about the whole situation.

Oct 1 (Tuesday) was the deadline for foreign-registered vehicles from Singapore to Malaysia by land to carry the VEP tags.

Acquiring the tag, however, did not prove to be easy for everyone. However, motorists who do not have a VEP tag by Oct 1 would only get a warning for now.

But by Tuesday afternoon, it became obvious that some Singaporeans did not want to press their luck, as evidenced by noticeably smaller traffic volume than usual.

Facebook user Jeremy See posted a photo of a traffic-less Johor Bahru and captioned it with “The ONLY good thing with the VEP. JB looks like a scene from the pandemic once more.”

On the SG JB Checkpoints Live Traffic Updates Facebook page, a post read, “VEP Day 1: Very peaceful causeway.”

It showed a photo of very few cars on the Woodlands Causeway toward Johor, which said that it would only take 20 to 30 minutes to JB and even less time via Tuas, only 20 to 25 minutes.

The route toward Singapore was also similarly light.

A woman wrote at 9:38 am, “Look at the Woodlands Checkpoint. Normally, at this time on weekdays, the bridge will be filled with many cars bumper to bumper. Today on 1st Oct… boleh joget² eh lalu Woodlands JB.” (“boleh joget² eh lalu” means “you can dance while going through”) in Malay.

Another Singaporean Facebook user observed, “We are very obedient when you said we cannot enter without valid VEP, even with a warning. We just wanna ensure in keeping our records are clean.

Normally, during weekdays around 3 pm, traffic will start to build up, taking at least 45 minutes to 1 hour to enter via Woodlands to Johor. Today, it’s a breeze… just within 10 to 30 minutes.”

Also, those who received the warnings shared photos of the notices they got on their mobile phones. The message shows how many times a person has received a warning.

Before crossing, the motorist can also see a sign that says, “VEP not registered. Please register.”

On Tuesday morning, the Johor State Road Transport Department issued a reminder notice at Sultan Iskandar Building (BSI) for Singaporean vehicle owners who have not yet registered for a VEP, adding that the “gradual implementation” began on Oct 1. /TISG

Read also: S’poreans poke fun at VEP’s “very flexible rules” as motorists without RFID tags from Oct 1 are still allowed to enter Malaysia but will get a “warning”