Malaysia & Singapore Require Better Travelling Plan For 2016 Long Weekends

SINGAPORE, Jan 3 (Bernama) -- Both Malaysia and Singapore will have a series of long weekends this year, thus, requiring better travelling plans.

There will be eight long weekends (holidays either falling on a Friday or Monday) for Malaysia and six for Singapore.

It was reported here that for Chinese New Year alone, tickets for Malaysia-bound buses are already in high demand, despite the threefold increase in prices.

Quoting the Express and Excursion Bus Association, the report said 12 express bus operators have raised fares to between S$90 (S$1=RM3.05) and S$150.

Tickets for Feb 5, which is the Friday before the long Chinese New Year weekend, are already sold out, while, 80 per cent of the tickets for Feb 6 have been sold, the association said.

The Association said 12 operators have already added additional daily trips, from 70 on normal days to a total of 300 during the Chinese New Year period.

Chinese New Year falls on Feb 8 or Monday while the tickets went on sale from November last year.

"Initially, we were not optimistic about the sales this year as the economy is not as good as previous years," the Association treasurer, Elson Yap was quoted as saying.

He added that the strong Singapore dollar could be the reason for the high demand for tickets, as more Malaysians have stayed in the Republic to work.

Besides buses, the report said commuters are also considering taking the train from Singapore to Johor.
-bernama.