Hah, just got back from johor.
Took CW3 from johor (perling mall) to Jurong east. Cost RM3.20, and
journey was 1.5hrs. Expected it to be faster really, since it was
9am (off-peak already)on the highways and the Tuas CIQ situation is
so much less chaotic than the woodlands one.
Btw, the Tuas CIQ appears to be quite deserted, it's just like the
woodlands one with almost as many lanes but only 2 were open and
no-one except the 10 people on my CW3 bus was passing through - the
security personnel was no less though, with the result that there
was this bunch of ICA staff and guards staring at the few of us
dribbling through the security gates. Weird.
Anyway, the CW3 route can potentially be much faster and smoother,
I think under an hour should be no prob. The reason for the delay
is that there's just too much waiting time, and the drivers take
their own time of day to get on with the ride. The bus from perling
had to stop at gelang patah and everyone transfered to another CW3.
And since there were only 3 of us, we had to wait for another bus
load (of 7 pple!) to arrive and fill up more seats. During the wait
the driver decided to go off for tea and we sat there waiting for
him, and then another passenger decided to go to the loo, but the
driver came back while he was gone and we took off without him.
Poor fella (but more of him later).
So onwards to Tun Abdul Razak checkpoint... dropped off and had my
passport stamped, then got on again. The bus was waiting for us,
but don't know if this is routine or just because our dear driver
went on another of his jaunts, to the loo this time, and again we
sat there waiting for him for about 10 mins. And then who should
come wandering up but the fella left behind at Gelang Patah; he got
on but had lost his ticket, thus ensued a I-paid-No-you-did-not
conversation betw him and the ticket inspector. I did see him get
on and pay at Perling so I told the inspector so and he finally
decided to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. I found out later
that the poor fella, stranded at Gelang Patah, had actually caught
a taxi to the Checkpoint to catch up with us (which totally defeats
the purpose of taking the bus!).
After that the journey was smooth. Got off at Tuas CIQ and then on
again; the bus waited for everyone, and on to Jurong East via AYE
and Jurong Town Hall Rd. The actual travelling bits were great,
smooth and quick; it's just the incessant waiting that spoils it.
Nice view from the 2nd link too, keppel club is just so
obvious.
The price is actually not bad (for my journey), considering that if
I went by woodlands I'd have to take a bus from perling down to jb
town, then 170/160/CW1 across to SG, which adds up more or less to
RM3 anyway. Good for all those needing to go from Perling to Jurong
East. I'm quite sure CW3 charges stepped fares, cos I've taken it
from Perling to jb town and it's only RM1.90. Not sure about the
frequency though; it was the first bus i saw when I arrived at the
bus stop so i just got on (lucky me). From a chart on the bus
should be one every 20 mins. No proper bus stop and signages in jb
though; basically have to know where the bus stops and just stand
by the road. The good thing is that in the residential areas the
buses usually stop wherever you wave them down.
