We note recent Malaysian media reports suggesting that Singapore is looking to introduce cross-border on-demand ride services. We would like to clarify the current arrangements and ongoing discussions.

On 1 Aug 2025, Singapore and Malaysian officials met to discuss cross-border service arrangements.

During the discussions, the issue of allowing cross-border e-hailing (ride-hailing) to ferry passengers was raised but no decision was made. While we are open to ideas to improve the cross-border commuting experience, we would like to clarify that LTA has no plan to fully liberalise cross-border point-to-point transport via ride-hail services.

There is an existing reciprocal Cross Border Taxi Scheme (CBTS) in place that allows a licensed fleet of up to 200 taxis from each side to ferry passengers between Singapore and Johor Bahru. These cross-border taxis are currently permitted to pick up and drop off passengers only at a single designated point in the other’s country - Larkin Sentral in Johor Bahru for Singapore taxis and Ban San Street Terminal in Singapore for Malaysian taxis.

Today, the existing quota of the CBTS is not fully utilised. In view of commuter demand for more convenient cross-border travel, we will encourage full take up of the quota of licensed taxis. We are also considering increasing the number of boarding and alighting points in each other’s country, and to use ride-hailing apps to book cross-border trips on licensed taxis.

In any adjustment to our cross-border point-to-point transport regime, our key priorities are to better meet commuter demand while safeguarding the interests of our taxi and private hire drivers. As CBTS is a reciprocal arrangement, any change will require agreement from both governments.

At the meeting, the Malaysian authorities had also requested for Singapore’s cross-border buses to start their operations from Johor Bahru at 4.00am. LTA is assessing whether the operating times of these services can be adjusted to help address bus crowding in the early mornings. A key consideration is that the first buses should match the starting time of our local bus and MRT services when they arrive in Singapore. LTA is exploring with cross-border bus operators the possibility of bringing forward the bus start times slightly, as well as engaging private bus operators on their interest to operate earlier services at higher fares.