Ever tried travelling using domestic buses between the towns of Kulai, Kluang, Ayer Hitam, Yong Peng and Batu Pahat in the central part of Johor? It is unbelievable that in this Information Age era — or probably already in a new era — information on buses between these towns and their schedules are so hard to find. I have to discover them by being physically in the towns to check out — or stumbled on — the bus services.
I am sharing what I know in this article for whoever interested in exploring the local towns of Johor and also for me to retrieve these information if I need them when on the road.
The diagram below illustrates the local buses that connect the 5 towns in 3 districts. For clarity, Kulai town is in Kulai District (orange), Kluang town is in Kluang District (green), and the towns of Ayer Hitam, Yong Peng and Batu Pahat are in Batu Pahat District (yellow). Yong Peng is the only town, among the five, that has a separate express bus terminal and local bus terminal.
Kulai District is to the north of Johor Bahru and easily accessible from Johor Bahru via domestic buses from JB Sentral, Larkin Sentral and trains from JB Sentral.
Kluang District is also accessible from Johor Bahru via long distance buses from Larkin Sentral and trains from JB Sentral. To use domestic buses — with a lot of time to spare — get to Kulai, then Ayer Hitam and finally to Kluang.
Between Kulai town and Kluang town, there is a railway link with 4 train services per day going in each direction. Use KTMB's mobile app to get the latest train schedules.
City Bus 2 traverses between Larkin Sentral and Ayer Hitam Bus Terminal and makes a brief stop at Kulai Bus Terminal. More info: City Bus 2
Kulai-Ayer Hitam Green Transit Liner (GTL) traverses between Kulai Bus Terminal and Ayer Hitam Bus Terminal but using a longer route than City Bus 2. More info: Kulai-Ayer Hitam GTL (Facebook)
The non-air-condition Johore Motor Bus 56 service the route between Kluang town and Batu Pahat town and will stop at Ayer Hitam Bus Terminal in both directions. Despite finding a schedule for the bus service in Kluang Bus Terminal that specified 15~20 minutes time interval, it is not adhered to. To take this service, turn up at the bus terminals and wait — so far, known departures from Kluang Bus Terminal are at around 9:40am, 12:15pm and 1:15pm, suggesting 30-minute interval.
Causeway Link 8 is a new service that traverses between Batu Pahat Express Bus Terminal and Ayer Hitam Bus Terminal. It has an irregular service frequency. More info: Causeway Link 8
Yow Hoe Bus traverses between Ayer Hitam and Segamat and will make a brief stop at Yong Peng Bus Terminal — not the express bus terminal — in both directions. However, there are very few services a day and information on its schedule is hard to find online.
Another Green Transit Liner 03 service the route between Batu Pahat town and Yong Peng Bus Terminal, stopping briefly at Ming Ang Express Bus Terminal in Yong Peng. More info: Batu Pahat-Yong Peng GTL (Facebook)
I did a journey from Johor Bahru to Kulai, then to Ayer Hitam and finally reaching Kluang within a day using local buses. Two days later, I travelled from Kluang to Batu Pahat. Knowing how to get around the towns using local buses allows me to plan short trips to visit more places — e.g. make a day trip to Batu Pahat and back when staying in Kluang, or vice versa.
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