Growth in 2026 subject to uncertainties: MAS
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Straits Times
40 minutes ago
- Straits Times
LTA, Singapore bus operators reviewing Malaysia's request to start services from JB at 4am
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Commuters queue to board the Causeway Link bus to Johor Bahru on April 9. SINGAPORE – The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Singapore bus operators are reviewing a request from Malaysia to start operating cross-border bus services from Johor Bahru an hour earlier. LTA told The Straits Times on July 29 that it had received a request from Malaysia's Land Public Transport Agency on June 17 to start operating cross-border bus services earlier and that it is 'working with our bus operators to review the request'. These operators are public bus companies SBS Transit (SBST) and SMRT and some private bus operators. Malaysian news daily The Star said on July 24 that the Land Public Transport Agency is in talks with LTA to ask Singapore's bus operators to start services at 4am, instead of 5am. According to The Star, Johor state Works, Transportation, Infrastructure and Communication Committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said long queues of Singapore-bound passengers would form at the Johor Bahru Checkpoint at 4am, so he hopes that an earlier start time would tackle the pre-dawn rush. SBST currently operates service 160 from Johor Bahru Checkpoint, with departures starting at 5am on weekdays and 5.50am on weekends or public holidays. It also runs service 170 between Larkin Terminal in Johor Bahru and Queen Street Terminal near Jalan Besar, with departures starting from 5.20am on weekdays and 5.30am on weekends or public holidays. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw names 6 law firms taken to task over involvement in property deals Singapore Police reopen access to all areas in Marina Bay after crowd congestion eases at NDP Preview area Singapore Opening of Woodlands Health has eased load on KTPH, sets standard for future hospitals: Ong Ye Kung Asia KTM plans new passenger rail service in Johor Bahru to manage higher footfall expected from RTS Singapore HSA investigating teen allegedly vaping on MRT train Asia 4 workers dead after falling into manhole in Japan Singapore New vehicular bridge connecting Punggol Central and Seletar Link to open on Aug 3 Singapore New S'pore jobs portal launched for North West District residents looking for work near home Service 170X – a supplementary service that plies only a section of service 170's route – is also run by SBST, with the first bus leaving Johor Bahru at 8.28am on weekdays. Additionally, SMRT operates service 950 across the Causeway from Johor Bahru Checkpoint towards the Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange. No information on the starting times for its Singapore-bound service is publicly available, but the Johor Bahru-bound service departs from Woodlands at 5.30am every day. Other private bus operators, including Singapore-Johore Express, Ridewell Travel and Transtar Travel, ply routes from Larkin Bus Terminal and Johor Bahru Checkpoint to Singapore. ST has contacted all public and private bus operators for comment. SMRT and SBST directed these queries to LTA. Associate Professor Walter Theseira, a transport economist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said it may be more costly and logistically challenging to operate cross-border bus services outside the usual scheduled hours. This is because public bus operators face labour constraints, he added. It would be more difficult to offer services at earlier start times as drivers may not want to accept these shifts, and it would affect manpower planning for the rest of the day. And these operational constraints may lead to higher fares, noted Prof Theseira, since buses operating outside scheduled hours are typically expected to cover a larger share of costs from fares – as in the case of the now-defunct late-night bus services, which charged higher fares of above $4. He noted that there may also be concerns from Singaporeans about providing more subsidies so that public transport operators can start their cross-border services earlier because they would primarily benefit Malaysians working in Singapore. While private operators can also adjust the operating hours of such services, he said they must be able to make profits to offer extended services. Malaysians who cross the Causeway daily to get to work in Singapore, such as Mr Eerman Dzulkurnai, 39, said he would be happy to have potentially more cross-border bus services to use as he typically gets to Johor Bahru Checkpoint by around 4am to avoid getting stuck in traffic and be able to arrive at his workplace in Pioneer by 9am. The information technology support officer noted that by 6am, there are usually snaking queues, and it can take travellers one hour to squeeze onto a bus to Singapore. He added that early on the morning of July 21, when bus drivers under Malaysian bus operator Causeway Link went on strike, he was left with no choice but to walk 30 minutes across the Causeway.
CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
India will continue to buy Russian oil, government sources say
NEW DELHI: India will continue to purchase oil from Russia, despite US President Donald Trump's threats of penalties, two Indian government sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. "These are long-term oil contracts," one of the sources said. "It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight." Trump last month indicated in a Truth Social post that India would face additional penalties for purchases of Russian arms and oil. On Friday (Aug 1), Trump told reporters that he had heard that India would no longer be buying oil from Russia. The New York Times on Saturday quoted two unnamed senior Indian officials as saying there had been no change in Indian government policy, with one official saying the government had "not given any direction to oil companies" to cut back imports from Russia. Reuters reported this week that Indian state refiners stopped buying Russian oil in the past week after discounts narrowed in July. "TIME-TESTED PARTNERSHIP" WITH RUSSIA "On our energy sourcing requirements ... we look at what is there available in the markets, what is there on offer, and also what is the prevailing global situation or circumstances," India's foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters during a regular briefing on Friday. Jaiswal added that India has a "steady and time-tested partnership" with Russia, and that New Delhi's relations with various countries stand on their own merit and should not be seen from the prism of a third country. The White House in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Indian refiners are pulling back from Russian crude as discounts shrink to their lowest since 2022, when Western sanctions were first imposed on Moscow, due to lower Russian exports and steady demand, sources said earlier this week. The country's state refiners - Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd - have not sought Russian crude in the past week or so, four sources familiar with the refiners' purchase plans told Reuters. 100% TARIFF THREAT On July 14, Trump threatened 100 per cent tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine. Russia is the top supplier to India, responsible for about 35 per cent of India's overall supplies. Russia continued to be the top oil supplier to India during the first six months of 2025, accounting for about 35 per cent of India's overall supplies, followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. India, the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, received about 1.75 million barrels per day of Russian oil in January-June this year, up 1 per cent from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by sources. Nayara Energy, a major buyer of Russian oil, was recently sanctioned by the European Union as the refinery is majority-owned by Russian entities, including oil major Rosneft. Last month, Reuters reported that Nayara's chief executive had resigned after the imposition of EU sanctions, and company veteran Sergey Denisov had been appointed as CEO.
CNA
7 hours ago
- CNA
Expiring Tanjong Pagar Distripark lease paints uncertain future for tenants
A bustling arts cluster at Tanjong Pagar Distripark may have to find a new home, with the building's lease set to expire in 2027 amid the redevelopment of the area. That is even as the number of arts groups at the location has more than quadrupled since 2021, with a 20 per cent boost in footfall from the year after. Muhammad Bahajjaj with more.
