Joint Statement by the Ministry of Transport, Singapore and Ministry of Transport, Malaysia on the Cross-border Taxi Scheme and Cross-border Bus Services

1.     The Transport Ministers for Singapore and Malaysia, Jeffrey Siow and Anthony Loke, met on 4 Dec 2025 as part of the 12th Singapore-Malaysia Leaders’ Retreat to discuss ongoing efforts to strengthen transport links between the two countries.

2.     The land transport links between Singapore and Malaysia are among the busiest in the world, reflecting the strong business linkages and people-to-people ties. Further improvements to the convenience of cross-border passenger transport services can benefit both travellers and facilitate fairer competition between transport providers and drivers in both countries. The two Ministers noted the ongoing discussions between officials from both sides, and agreed on the key enhancements to cross-border taxi services as well as improving the reciprocity of cross-border bus services.

Enhancing Cross-border Taxi Services

3.     The Ministers acknowledged the demand for more convenient cross-border transport services. To meet this demand, and to curb the provision of illegal services, the Ministers agreed for the Land Public Transport Agency of Malaysia (Agensi Pengangkutan Awam Darat or APAD), and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to continue close discussions on enhancements to the Cross-Border Taxi Scheme, to achieve the following outcomes:

a.     To improve the convenience and efficiency of arranging cross-border rides for both passengers and drivers, both countries will work towards a regulatory regime for cross-border ride-hail and e-hailing platforms.

b.     To improve convenience for travellers, in addition to taxis being allowed to pick up passengers anywhere in their respective home countries, foreign taxis will also be allowed to drop off passengers anywhere outside their home country. However, foreign taxis can only pick up passengers at designated pick-up points to prevent them from providing local point-to-point services. We will gradually increase the number of pick-up points for ride-hail or e-hailing app bookings.

c.     To support enforcement against illegal domestic point-to-point trips, licensed taxis must be clearly identifiable by livery, tamper-proof vehicle plate with predefined prefix and topper, and will also be required to install Singapore’s ERP2 on-board unit for entry into Singapore.

d.     To protect passengers and other road users, both countries will work towards improving insurance coverage of cross-border taxis, and speeding up claims processing in the event of an accident.

e.     To increase supply of cross-border taxis, both countries will gradually increase the quota for licensed cross-border taxis from the existing 200 from each country. Subject to effective implementation of safeguards against illegal domestic trips and insurance requirements, we aim to gradually increase this quota to 500 from each country. As a start, each country will provide an additional quota of 100, prioritised for larger and more premium vehicles that can address the needs of larger groups and business travellers.

Aligning Regulations on Cross-Border Bus Services

4.     Besides taxi services between Singapore and Johor, travellers from both countries rely on cross-border bus services for tourism, including to destinations beyond Johor Bahru. While these options have served travellers well, both Ministers recognised that a wider range of services can make bus travel a more attractive option. In the spirit of reciprocity, both Ministers asked APAD and LTA to work towards aligning regulatory regimes so as to enhance cross-border bus services for tourism. 

5.     These enhancements and principles agreed to by both Ministers reflects our continued commitment to improving cross-border connectivity and the commuting experience for travellers between Singapore and Malaysia. Officials from both countries will keep up their close engagement, and work expeditiously towards an agreement and implementation of enhancements to cross-border taxi and bus services.

MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, SINGAPORE
MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, MALAYSIA
5 DECEMBER 2025