JOHOR BARU: Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is expected to announce some good news for Southern Shuttle users in Budget 2027, says Antony Loke.
The Transport Minister, said some 20,000 people have used the service since it was first launched in June 2026.
"Ridership is on the rise with about 200 to 300 people using it on weekdays. We see it being popular during weekends when those working in Singapore use it to travel to Kulai or Paloh," he said after attending an event to expand the Johor stage bus service here on Thursday (Oct 8).
Loke said Anwar would make the announcement when tabling Budget 2027 on Friday (Oct 9).
The Southern Shuttle, launched in collaboration with KTMB and the Johor government, currently operates two routes – Kulai-JB Sentral-Paloh and Kempas Baru-Pasir Gudang-Kempas Baru.
Loke also said that the shuttle service, which uses existing trains, would eventually get new trains.
"We are using existing locomotives to operate these routes until we get new sets," he said, adding the wait time is two to three years.
Meanwhile on expansion of the stage bus service bas.my, he said that the fleet would be increased from 160 to 230 buses.
"The government has agreed to carry on with the Stage Bus Service Transformation (SBST) programme for the next five years," he said.
He said that when the project was launched four years ago, the number of trips was about 450,000 per day, which has increased to 1.06 million trips in December 2025, reaching a peak of 1.28 million trips in January 2026.
