- Increasing traffic congestion in Johor Baru has forced residents to adjust their morning routines, leaving earlier to avoid delays.
- The traffic situation has worsened due to ongoing construction projects, higher vehicle volume post-Covid-19 lockdown, and an influx of Singaporean vehicles, causing stress and longer travel times for commuters.
- Residents and workers, including delivery drivers and mechanics, are experiencing significant delays, leading to calls for infrastructure improvements like road widening, flyovers, and "Smart Lanes" to alleviate congestion.
JOHOR BARU, Aug 3 — Norshikin Mohd Salleh, 42, recalled the past when she could leave her home in Iskandar Puteri at 8am and still arrive at work in downtown Johor Baru by 8.30am.
However, with the worsening traffic over the years, she had to now leave by at least half an hour earlier.
“For my daily morning routine to work, I have to sacrifice leaving earlier now in order to reach my office in time,” she told Malay Mail in a recent interview.
“In the past, I used to leave my home in Iskandar Puteri at 8am and can still make it to my workplace in the city by 8.30am.
“Now I have to leave much earlier, at the latest by 7.30am,” the private healthcare executive added.
Just like Norshikin, several motorists told Malay Mail that commute has now become exponentially more stressful as Johor Baru and its surrounding areas face heavier gridlock in the past few years.
Roads leading to the state capital have also been affected by bottlenecks and also ongoing construction that is made worst during peak traffic hours.
Motorists have described the congestion as a growing concern ever since the easing of the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic travel restrictions back in 2022.
Norshikin said while peak hour traffic can be maddening, it is still not as stressful as off-peak congestion, as she spends a good part of her working day being on the road for meetings and engagements.
“Yes, it can be stressful being caught in the city traffic, but as a marketer I need to be constantly on the move.
“For me, the only difference is how long will the delay take,” she said, relating how recently she took an hour to clear a distance of 20km from Bandar Seri Alam to Taman Perling along the Pasir Gudang highway — that would normally take half the time.
Suria Mohd Sidin, 37, said she shares the same predicament with Norshikin when her work is hampered by bad traffic in the city area.
The manager told Malay Mail that part of her work is to meet clients whose offices are scattered in the city centre.
“Previously, even before the Covid-19 travel restrictions were enforced, I can complete my engagement task with several clients in a day.
“At present, it can take me two to three days to complete the same task due to the city’s congestion.
“In addition, its also difficult for me to find parking spots,” said Suria, describing her frustration when there is deadline to be met.
Suria added that the congestion along the popular stretches such as Jalan Tebrau, Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Skudai can also extend during weekends and public holidays.
She feels that her time is wasted in a bumper-to-bumper crawl in the city, even when she is not working.
“The bad congestion is usually due to the increase in local motorists and also Singaporean vehicles that enter Johor Baru creating bottlenecks at the junctions.
“The situation is stressful for people like me when I have to be in the city. So, given a choice, I usually avoid travelling on those roads during weekends,” she said.
Delivery driver Yazrin Rohani, said Johor Baru’s traffic congestion has been building up over the past few years after the Covid-19 lockdown was lifted.
“Even in previously congestion-free areas like Stulang Laut are now notorious for gridlocks due to the ongoing construction of the RTS Link that is taking up a significant portion of the road.
“In my line of work, being caught in a traffic congestion can be upsetting and stressful.
“Despite operating on flexible hours, the traffic congestion affects me directly as being late means potentially missing my next job due to the delivery timing for orders,” he told Malay Mail when met at a refreshment stall in Bandar Baru Uda here recently.
The 24-year-old added that the worsening traffic situation was also contributed by other construction and road widening projects within the city.
“Being on the road daily, I noticed that this has caused roads around the city area to become narrow, resulting in bottlenecks and bumper-to-bumper traffic,” he said.
Even mechanic Moo Sheng Wei, who stay relatively close to his workplace, lamented that it now takes him longer to reach home after work.
His home in Taman Selesa Jaya to his workplace in Taman Perling is about 10km and would normally take not more than 20 minutes due to some traffic lights along the way.
“In the past two to three years, the evening traffic from Taman Perling to Taman Selesa Jaya has become heavier and can sometimes take close to an hour for me to reach home.
“So, I will normally have my dinner first and let the traffic lessen before heading back home at about 8.30pm,” said the 28-year-old when met recently.
Moo said he doesn’t have a problem coming to work as his workplace opens after 9am where there isn’t much congestion.
He said the traffic volume seems to be on the increase based on the amount of cars returning from work after office hours.
“Like it or not, I just have to live with it, as there isn’t much that can be done.
“We have to understand that most of Johor Baru’s residential areas have this problem due to a high population density,” he said.
To handle the traffic, Moo and Yazrin called for widening of roads and adding flyovers, or implementing more “Smart Lanes” where vehicles can use the emergency lanes during peak hours.
Other motorists like Norshikin said they rely on navigation apps such as Waze — or just changing their daily routine or routes altogether.
“Despite the hassle of traffic congestion, I think the situation in Johor Baru is still manageable compared to Kuala Lumpur,” offered Norshikin.
