JOHOR BARU: Many were left frustrated after their hours of waiting to purchase bus tickets online for the Vaccinated Travel Lane for land crossings (VTL-Land) between Malaysia and Singapore came to naught.

       P. Thineswara Rao, who works as a customer service officer in Singapore, said he had yet to get a ticket home despite numerous attempts in the past three days.

       “I waited for my turn from 10am on Friday until about 4.30pm. When it was finally my turn to book and make payment, I received an ‘unexpected error’ message.

       “I had to start all over again and until now, I have still not been successful in getting the tickets,” he said, adding that he was planning to go back to Johor at the end of January.

       Thineswara, 32, said he last saw his family, including his first child who was then only three months old, in July last year.

       “I want nothing more than to be reunited with my daughter again. I hope that more trips and seats can be made available soon as both Malaysia and Singapore seem to be handling the pandemic well,” he said.

       An administrative worker who only wanted to be known as Ong, 35, said she waited for over 14 hours to get a bus ticket for her husband in Singapore.

       “I waited in line to buy the bus ticket for my husband from 11.30am on Friday.

       “I stayed on the system until 2.20am the next day, only to be greeted with an error message once it finally reached my turn.

       “When I clicked on the message, I was prompted to take a new number for the queue. It was very frustrating. Many people are going through the same problem,” she said.

       Ong said she and her children had not met her husband, who works as a warehouse assistant in Singapore, for close to two years and were looking forward to finally being able to celebrate Chinese New Year together in Johor.

       “We understand that many people want to go back for Chinese New Year and we do not mind queuing. But it is disappointing to wait so long and not to get any result,” she said, adding that she had yet to get the ticket for her husband.

       Ong suggested that VTL-Land be open to motorcycles as well to reduce the load on the two bus companies.

       M. Krishnan, 49, who works in the service industry in Singapore, said he waited in front of his computer five minutes after ticket sales were opened.

       “I could not get a single ticket until at night. I was directed to take a new queue number several times after getting an error message, despite waiting for hours.

       “My wife and daughter who were helping me also had the same problem but at last, they were able to get me a ticket for Jan 12,” he said.

       Krishnan also urged both governments to expand the VTL-Land to the Second Link, especially for motorcycles.

       He said those who had bought tickets but could not travel for other reasons should be allowed to sell these back to the bus company.

       Handal Indah Sdn Bhd manager Mahathir Anuar said the company was working round the clock to cope with the high demand for tickets for Causeway Link buses.

       “We are trying our best to improve our system and provide the best experience for travellers.

       “We are also hoping for the quota of daily travellers to be gradually increased so that more people can have a chance to meet their loved ones.

       “Talks to open up the Second Link for VTL-Land are ongoing between the two countries and once this takes effect, it will be easier for people to travel,” he said.

       Handal Indah and Transtar Travel are the two bus companies authorised under this bilateral arrangement to ferry approved travellers across the Causeway.