Bus travellers at Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints can use QR codes to clear immigration in trial

SINGAPORE — Bus travellers will be able to use QR codes to enter and exit Singapore's two land checkpoints during a trial starting end-November, said Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on Nov 21.

Eligible travellers on the trial at the Woodlands and Tuas checkpoints will include Singapore residents — citizens, permanent residents and long-term pass holders —
as well as foreigners who have previously visited the Republic.

They will join others travelling from or to Johor by car, motorcycle or even bicycle, who can already opt to clear immigration at Singapore checkpoints with QR codes.

Prior to the rollout of the initiative in March, ICA estimated cars with four travellers can save around 20 seconds when using QR codes, while clearance time for motorcycles and their pillion riders was has been reduced by around 30 per cent.

The trial will begin from Nov 23 for those travelling through Tuas and the Second Link, and from Nov 28 for travellers using the Woodlands Checkpoint and the Causeway.

Similar to those using private vehicles, bus travellers can generate a unique QR code on the MyICA app.

Travellers can opt to generate a unique individual or group QR code and select "Bus" as the vehicle type on the app, which can be downloaded off official Android and Apple app stores.

The trial will be conducted at selected automated lanes and special assistance lanes (SALs) with accompanying signs at the arrival and departure bus halls of both Singapore's land checkpoints, said ICA, with officers present to provide assistance.

Up to four people can use a single QR code generated for the group of travellers. The group will scan the QR code at SALs and enter the first gantry together, before verifying their biometrics individually.

After scanning their generated QR codes at the passport scanning area, the second step of clearance will involve verifying the traveller's biometrics, namely their face and iris image, or fingerprints.

ICA encouraged eligible bus travellers to participate in the trial to help fine-tune its processes.

Currently, both of Johor's land checkpoints are also conducting QR code immigration trials for Malaysian bus and motorcycle travellers, with the trial expected to be open to car drivers as well as foreigners at a later date.

The QR code trials using the MyRentas app which started in June for bus travellers using the Johor Bahru checkpoint has significantly reduced travellers' peak hour waiting times from around two hours to 15 minutes, the app's vendor said in October. Waiting times for bus travellers using the Second Link to enter Johor were reduced from 90 minutes to 15 minutes.

The land crossings connecting Singapore and Johor are among the world's busiest, with an average of 400,000 people using both Johor checkpoints each day, Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told Malaysia's Parliament on Nov 18.

Nearly 118 million travelled through both checkpoints from January to October 2024, an increase of 17 per cent from the previous year, he added.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.