Five Hundred Taxis and Two New Apps: The Causeway Gets Crowded — on Purpose

From November 16, Singapore and Malaysia will each allow 500 licensed cross-border taxis on the Causeway corridor — up from 300 — hitting a target the two transport ministries first floated in December 2025. The same joint statement awarded ride-hail licences to ComfortDelGro’s CDG Zig and Malaysia’s Kumpool, ending Grab’s spell as the only app permitted to book journeys across the link. Officials framed the package as connectivity for business and people-to-people ties; travellers will feel it as more cars, more apps and — still — fares that look nothing like a downtown street hail.

More seats, same premium price tag

The May overhaul that lifted the quota from 200 to 300 already favoured larger and premium vehicles, added pick-up points and let taxis drop passengers anywhere in Singapore and Johor within set radii. Fixed fares rose with that flexibility: a four-seater from Ban San Street in Bugis to Larkin Sentral or destinations within 35 kilometres now costs S$80 outbound and RM240 inbound. Ride-hail bookings, once locked 12 hours ahead, can now be made 90 minutes before departure and can start from anywhere in Singapore toward Iskandar Puteri or Senai — convenience that still costs more than a rank taxi from Ban San.

LTA chief executive Ng Lang cast the expansion as choice and flexibility; Zig’s Singapore point-to-point lead said the new licence would improve convenience without yet spelling out fleet size or launch timing. For weekend shoppers, factory managers and families splitting time between Johor Bahru and Singapore, the policy question is practical: will 500 licences and two extra apps shrink the queues that still form when holidays and Friday evenings collide — or simply move the wait from the rank to the loading spinner. November 16 is when the answer starts to show up in the queue.