The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has improved traveller and traffic flow at Woodlands Checkpoint by repurposing part of the departure cargo zone into a dedicated passenger clearance hall for chartered buses and vans ferrying workers between Malaysia and Singapore during weekday evening peak periods. Since 17 April 2026, this new clearance arrangement has freed up bus bays at the main departure bus concourse for both public and looping bus services such as Causeway Link (CW) and Transtar buses.

2          Woodlands Checkpoint handles high traveller and traffic volumes daily. During peak periods in 2024, the bus hall cleared a record high of about 9,000 travellers per hour. While chartered buses and vans ferrying workers form only part of the overall traffic, they typically occupy bus bays for longer periods as drivers will need to wait for all workers to complete immigration clearance and reboard. This reduces the availability of bus bays for the public and looping bus services, contributing to congestion and overcrowding of the departure bus concourse during weekday evening peak periods.

New Passenger Clearance Hall at Departure Cargo Zone

3          Under this initiative, chartered buses and vans ferrying workers from Singapore to Malaysia are diverted to the departure cargo zone, where they would alight and proceed to the new passenger clearance hall equipped with 15 automated clearance kiosks. After completing immigration clearance, they reboard their vehicles at a designated waiting area before departing the checkpoint.  The average time taken by these travellers has been reduced from about 30 minutes to about 10 minutes.

4          Since the implementation of the new departure clearance initiative on 17 April, more than 8,800 buses and vans, carrying more than 142,000 travellers, used the new passenger clearance hall as of 20 June 2026. On average, about 200 vehicles and 3,000 travellers are diverted to the new hall each weekday.

Improved Traffic Flow and Traveller Experience

5         This initiative has reduced travellers’ clearance time at Woodlands Checkpoint, with the evening peak now easing about two hours earlier - around 9 PM, compared with 11 PM previously. This diversion has also freed up three out of seven bus bays at the main bus concourse, allowing the public and looping bus services to operate more efficiently. As a result, CW and Transtar buses can make an additional 75 and 43 bus trips respectively during the weekday evening peak period.

6         By separating the clearance arrangements for commuters taking chartered buses and vans from those who use the public and looping bus services, ICA has optimised the use of limited bus bay capacity, reduced waiting times, improved traffic flow within the checkpoint and enhanced the experience for all travellers.

7          ICA is committed to improving clearance efficiency and enhancing travellers’ experience at our checkpoints. We will continue to monitor traffic conditions and refine our operations to ensure smoother journeys for all travellers.

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY

30 JUNE 2026