Weekend trips to Johor Bahru usually come with a mental image of gridlocked cars at the checkpoints. The Causeway Link bus, better known as the CW bus, is a way around that: it uses a dedicated bus lane at Woodlands Checkpoint, so while drivers crawl, you sail past. On a recent Tuesday run, the trip from Queen Street Bus Terminal to JB Sentral took under an hour door to door.

There are three Causeway routes out of Singapore. CW1 departs from outside Kranji MRT and costs S$2.60, running every 15 to 30 minutes from 6.30am to 11.30pm. CW2 leaves from Queen Street Bus Terminal, an eight-minute walk from Bugis MRT, and is the priciest at S$4.80 — but it's the only one running 24 hours a day, dropping to 45-minute intervals between 11pm and 4am. CW5 starts near Newton Food Centre (S$4.60) every 45 minutes or so. Four more routes cross at the Tuas Second Link if you're heading to that side of Johor.

At Queen Street, join the queue marked by yellow paint — the other line is for a different operator, the Singapore-Johore Express. Buses are standard single-deckers with air-con and USB ports, and the ride to Woodlands Checkpoint takes around 25 to 30 minutes because they don't stop along the way (a regular public bus 170 would take about 90 minutes for the same stretch).

Payment is now cashless across Causeway Link cross-border buses, so bring an EZ-Link card, a Visa or Mastercard, or a ManjaLink card. The ManjaLink, sold for S$10 from machines near the terminal, works like an EZ-Link and also covers local JB buses, with 50% off your first ride. One quirk: EZ-Link and ManjaLink users must collect a physical ticket from the driver to board the connecting bus at the checkpoint, while card tappers simply tap again.

At Woodlands, clear immigration — Singaporeans no longer need the Malaysia Digital Arrival Card to use the e-gates, which took our travellers about five minutes on a weekday — then follow the yellow signs to the ground-level bus bay. Any CW bus there will take you to JB customs regardless of your original route; the short hop costs S$1.80 on ManjaLink or S$2 otherwise. Coming home is just as simple: after JB immigration, head to Departure Platform A, and if you want a connecting bus beyond Woodlands back into town, tell the driver your destination and pay in Malaysian ringgit — roughly S$0.80 to S$1.50.

Why bother if you own a car? Because the bus-only lane at the checkpoints can save you hours on a bad Friday or weekend. For anyone without wheels, it's the most straightforward budget route to JB's malls, massage parlours and lok lok stalls — just expect longer queues on Friday nights and weekends, and travel light so you can grab a standing spot if staff call for it.