Bus to JB from Singapore: Fares, Routes and Timings

Cheapest public-bus route: under SGD 2 · Lowest online express fare: SGD 5.00 · Distance: 38.5 km · Estimated bus time: 1 hr 00 min · 24-hour service corridor: Queen Street – JB CIQ

Key facts at a glance

Seven numbers decide most crossing plans, and the gap between them is the real story: the typical journey sits around one hour (redBus Singapore (coach booking platform)), public routes dip under SGD 2, and the lowest booked express fare starts at SGD 5.00.

What this means: the expensive mistake on this route is rarely the ticket — it’s picking a service that doesn’t match where you’re starting or what time you’re leaving.

What buses go to JB from Singapore?

CW1, CW2 and CW5 route highlights

• Causeway Link’s three CW services — CW1 from Kranji MRT, CW2 from Queen Street, CW5 from Newton Circus — run to the JB customs area for about SGD 2.60, SGD 4.80 and SGD 4.60 respectively; CW2 continues to Larkin Sentral and is the route reported as a 24-hour service (TheSmartLocal (Causeway Link guide)).

All three are Causeway Link cross-border services. The operator’s route listing connects from the CIQ at both the 1st Link and 2nd Link; the CW routes covered here cross at Woodlands rather than Tuas, according to YouTrip (cross-border travel guide).

SBS and SMRT public buses to JB

• SBS Transit service 170 runs from Queen Street toward Larkin Sentral, and service 170X connects the Kranji area with JB Sentral with the first bus at 5:37 am on the published schedule (YouTrip (cross-border travel guide); SBS Transit (official 170X page)).
• SBS Transit service 160 connects Jurong Town Hall Interchange with JB Sentral — the related 160A has a first bus at 5:25 am and a last bus at 12:00 am — and SMRT route 950 links Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange with JB Sentral (SBS Transit (official 160 page); YouTrip (cross-border travel guide)).

These are the under-SGD 2 crossing options that The Smart Local’s guide singles out as the cheapest way to reach JB (TheSmartLocal (Causeway Link guide)) — ideal if you’re starting near Kranji, Jurong East or Woodlands.

Express and coach alternatives

• Booking platforms such as redBus Singapore list roughly 142 daily services on the Singapore–JB route, with fares starting at about SGD 3 and reaching SGD 16 depending on the operator (redBus Singapore (coach booking platform)).
• BusOnlineTicket advertises express seats from as low as SGD 5.00, with a listed distance of 38.5 km and an estimated duration of 1 hr 00 min.

Online coaches suit travelers who want a reserved seat and a fixed departure time; the trade-off is that you’re paying for certainty rather than for speed.

The pattern: Singapore’s public network carries the cheap daytime crossing, Causeway Link covers the frequent middle ground, and CW2 is the only route that keeps running after the others stop.

The implication: CW2 is the only service that covers the full night corridor, making it the default choice for late-night travelers.

How much does a bus ticket from Singapore to Johor cost?

Online express-bus pricing

• The published market range runs from about SGD 3 to SGD 16, with the exact price set by the operator and departure time (redBus Singapore (coach booking platform)).
• The lowest headline fare on major booking sites is SGD 5.00, according to BusOnlineTicket’s route listing.
• Fares vary by operator, boarding point and whether you book online.

Public-bus fare vs express-bus fare

• Public SBS/SMRT routes cost under SGD 2 and are identified as the cheapest way to reach JB, while Causeway Link’s listed fares sit in the middle — CW1 at about SGD 2.60, CW5 at about SGD 4.60 and CW2 at SGD 4.80 (TheSmartLocal (Causeway Link guide)).

The gap between a public bus and CW2 is roughly two to three dollars — and that money buys the only 24-hour window reported on the corridor.

CW bus fare in the return direction

• The return fare from JB to Singapore is set by Causeway Link at the Johor Bahru end.
• None of the sources reviewed for this guide published a current SGD price for that direction.
• The practical check is the fare board at Larkin Sentral or the CIQ before boarding.

For the related question — how much a CW bus costs from Johor Bahru back to Singapore — the honest answer is that the SGD equivalent is not consistently published, so the responsible move is to read the operator’s fare board before you cross.

What is the best way to travel from Singapore to Johor Bahru?

Bus, public bus and train options

• The bus network gives the most departures: roughly 142 daily services are listed on booking platforms (redBus Singapore (coach booking platform)).
• Public buses are the cheapest at under SGD 2, CW express services cover the frequent middle ground, and online coaches add reserved seats and fixed timings.
• The train question comes up constantly — can a direct train replace the bus? — but for most boarding points the bus wins on frequency: roughly 142 daily departures against a single rail shuttle corridor.

The real comparison is not bus versus train; it’s bus versus the bus that starts where you are.

Distance and travel time

• The road distance between Singapore and Johor Bahru is about 38.5 km, according to BusOnlineTicket’s route listing.
• That distance is split between city roads and the Causeway approach, which is why journey estimates cluster around one hour regardless of the operator.

The distance is a given; the variable is the crossing hour and the queue ahead of you.

Choosing your boarding point

• Queen Street for CW2 and service 170, Kranji MRT for CW1 and 170X, Newton Circus for CW5, Woodlands for SMRT 950, and Jurong East for service 160 (YouTrip (cross-border travel guide)).
• Your boarding point effectively selects your fare: about SGD 2.60 from Kranji, SGD 4.80 from Queen Street, and under SGD 2 from most public-bus stops.

There is no universal best bus — only a correct answer for your station, your budget and your hour, and the route guides above give you the data to find it.

How long does it take to go to Malaysia from Singapore by bus?

Typical journey duration

• redBus Singapore reports a typical journey of about one hour on the Singapore–Johor Bahru route (redBus Singapore (coach booking platform)).
• BusOnlineTicket’s listing shows the same estimate — 1 hr 00 min — for the 38.5 km distance.

The one-hour figure is a quiet-day estimate; the queue at Woodlands CIQ is what turns a quick hop into a long one, especially on peak days.

Checkpoint considerations

• Causeway Link’s route listing connects from the CIQ at the 1st Link (Woodlands) and 2nd Link (Tuas); the CW1, CW2 and CW5 routes covered here all cross at Woodlands (YouTrip (cross-border travel guide)).
• Immigration queues can substantially increase total travel time, as redBus Singapore warns — so treat the 60-minute estimate as a best case, not a guarantee (redBus Singapore (coach booking platform)).

The practical version: 38.5 km is a statistic, one hour is an estimate, and the queue is the only number that actually predicts your arrival.

The catch: every estimate on this route assumes immigration is moving. A quiet Tuesday takes one hour; a peak Friday can stretch it by a wide margin, so the bus you choose matters less than the hour you choose.

Is there a 24-hour bus from Singapore to JB?

Overnight Queen Street service

• The Smart Local reports CW2 as a 24-hour service between Queen Street Bus Terminal and Larkin Sentral via the Woodlands Causeway, with daytime departures every 15–20 minutes and overnight gaps of about 45 minutes between 11 pm and 4–5 am (TheSmartLocal (Causeway Link guide)).

That makes CW2 the answer to the 24-hour question, with one caveat: the operator’s own timetable was not published in the sources reviewed here, so the overnight window is reported rather than operator-confirmed.

Last-bus planning

• SBS Transit 170X: first bus 5:37 am, last bus 11:37 pm on Mondays through Fridays and Sundays/public holidays, and 12:07 am on Saturdays (SBS Transit (official 170X page)).
• SBS Transit 160A: first bus 5:25 am, last bus 12:00 am on the referenced schedule (SBS Transit (official 160 page)).
• Causeway Link CW1 and CW5 wind down around 11:30 pm, so they are not late-night options (TheSmartLocal (Causeway Link guide)).

If you are crossing after midnight from Singapore, CW2 is the route to plan around; the last-bus times above are the cutoffs you need to beat.

Late-night alternatives

• Luxury bus routes are a separate question from the 24-hour service, and the reviewed sources did not list a verified set of named luxury operators on this sector.
• A taxi or ride-hail across the Causeway costs multiples of the SGD 4.80 bus fare, which is why the overnight bus matters for budget travelers.

Singapore to JB buses compared

Eight services, one price ladder: public routes under SGD 2, Causeway Link from about SGD 2.60 to SGD 4.80 (TheSmartLocal (Causeway Link guide)), and booked coaches up to about SGD 16 (redBus Singapore (coach booking platform)).

The pattern: the fare difference is mostly a time-of-day premium. The only service that sells the full night is CW2.

How to plan your Singapore–JB bus crossing, step by step

1. Pick your boarding point. Queen Street for CW2 and service 170, Kranji MRT for CW1 and 170X, Newton Circus for CW5, Woodlands for SMRT 950, Jurong East for service 160.
2. Pick your price tier. Public buses cost under SGD 2, CW1 is about SGD 2.60, CW5 about SGD 4.60, CW2 SGD 4.80 (TheSmartLocal (Causeway Link guide)), and booked coaches run from about SGD 3 to SGD 16 (redBus Singapore (coach booking platform)).
3. Check the clock. 170X starts at 5:37 am and ends at 11:37 pm on most days (SBS Transit (official 170X page)); 160A ends at 12:00 am; CW1 and CW5 wind down around 11:30 pm; CW2 is the only reported 24-hour service.
4. Add a queue buffer. Immigration queues can substantially increase total travel time (redBus Singapore (coach booking platform)), so don’t schedule a tight appointment on the JB side right after a peak-hour departure.
5. Read the fare board. Public buses and Causeway Link run separate fare structures, so confirm the price at your boarding point before you ride.
6. Book ahead if your plan is fixed. Online platforms list roughly 142 daily departures (redBus Singapore (coach booking platform)); a reserved seat removes uncertainty on weekends and public holidays.

The one decision that overrides everything else is whether you’re crossing before or after midnight — the step that matters most changes completely depending on that answer.

What’s confirmed, what’s still uncertain

The balance matters: the route map and the fares are solid, and the one genuinely uncertain claim is the 24-hour window. Plan around CW2 for late nights, but check the operator’s schedule before you commit.

What the operators and booking sites say

“CW2 is a 24-hour service between Queen Street Bus Terminal and Larkin Sentral via the Woodlands Causeway.”

TheSmartLocal (Causeway Link guide)

“A typical Singapore-to-Johor Bahru bus journey takes approximately one hour, although immigration queues can substantially increase total travel time.”

redBus Singapore (coach booking platform)

“SBS Transit service 170X: first bus 5:37 am, last bus 11:37 pm on Mondays to Fridays and Sundays/public holidays, with a later 12:07 am last bus on Saturdays.”

SBS Transit (official 170X page)

“CW1 connects Kranji MRT with the Johor Bahru customs area using the Woodlands crossing, while service 170 runs from Queen Street toward Larkin Sentral.”

YouTrip (cross-border travel guide)

Taken together, the sources line up on the essentials: one hour is a fair estimate, under SGD 2 is the floor for public routes, and the 24-hour claim — while widely repeated — still lacks an operator-published timetable.

The takeaway: the Singapore–JB bus market splits cleanly in two — public routes that cost under SGD 2 and stop around midnight, and CW express services that charge a little more for frequency and, in CW2’s case, the full night. Booking a coach ahead makes sense when your plans are fixed and you want a seat locked in. For the traveler crossing between midnight and 5 am, the decision is clear: board CW2 from Queen Street at SGD 4.80, because every other bus on this corridor has signed off for the night.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Seletar Mall Money Changer: SGD to MYR Rates & Hours — useful stop before crossing if you need ringgit on arrival.
• Singapore Jobs for Malaysians: Salary, Costs & Work Passes — context for regular cross-border commuters who ride these buses daily.