If you have been wondering why there have been a drop in Malaysian motorbikes on our roads, here's why...

According to a report from Chinese newspaper Zaobao, more than 5,000 bikes have since been transported back to Malaysia while their owners choose to stay in Singapore as the reopening of borders between Singapore and Malaysia remains unknown. 

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Malaysian employees that travel back and forth daily into Singapore have been affected. This number stands at an estimated 300,000 and many of these people enter our country by motorbikes while some drive in. In order to save entry permit fees and other expenses, the authorities have assisted Malaysian workers who are stuck or choose to stay in Singapore ever since the closing of borders by returning more than 5,000 motorcycles and cars to Malaysia in the past five months.

A manager of one of these transport companies that provides this service has revealed that about 3,000 motorcycles have been transported across the border by them since June. At its peak, his company handled 120 bikes a day. He was quoted saying that many of these workers consider the $4 daily entry permit fee and other expenses too much to handle, choosing instead to take public transport in Singapore.

Another company added on that some of the bike owners even decided to sell the motorcycles immediately after returning them to Johor.

Once the transport company obtains the approval of the relevant authorities in Malaysia, it will conduct a physical screening for their driver before sending them over into Johor. To prevent the entire shipment of vehicles from being detained, the motorcycles that are being transported over must be fulled up and are checked to ensure that their license plates match the respective vehicle.

It is understood that the cost of transporting a motorcycle back to Johor Bahru is between $80 to $150.