Bus Review: Mayang Sari Express from JB Larkin Sentral to KL TBS (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan) by Bus

Bus Reviews, Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, RailTravel Guides, Trip Reports 5 comments

Mayang Sari Express Bus from JB Larkin Sentral to KL TBS (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan) Bus Review

Mayang Sari Express is a familiar express bus brand as it has routes serving most states throughout Peninsular Malaysia. For this trip, I opted to travel with Mayang Sari Express as I was on a challenge to travel from Singapore to Bangkok for under S$50, and Mayang Sari Express had the cheapest regular fare ticket on this route, excluding any online coupons or discounts. As such, I booked Mayang Sari Express Bus from JB Larkin Sentral to KL TBS (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan) on my shoestring budget trip to Bangkok.

Singapore to Bangkok for under S$50!

Johor Bahru Larkin Sentral

I made my Mayang Sari Express booking on BusOnlineTicket as they did not charge an admin fee, as compared with Easybook. This saving would help me achieve my S$50 budget to travel from Singapore to Bangkok.

With an online booking, I needed to queue at the Johor Bahru Larkin Sentral ticket counter to get my boarding pass, and frustratingly, there was quite a queue when I had arrived.

However, about 5 minutes in, a security guard came around to call for passengers who had online bookings to proceed to the next row of counters instead.

The dedicated row for boarding pass collection and payment is at counters A09 to A14, beside the departure gate.

Johor Bahru Larkin Sentral charges RM2 for boarding pass and facilities since 1 January 2022.

My boarding pass for my Mayang Sari Express bus from JB Larkin Sentral to KL TBS (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan). This costs RM30 + RM2 Larkin Sentral fee.

Heading into the express bus departure hall. Passengers are allowed to enter from 30 minutes to departure time.

Scanning my boarding pass QR code at the counter in front of the express bus departure hall. There are no more CTS gates to walk through.

The express bus departure hall has plenty of seats. However, do note that no toilets are available here. You should use the toilet (30 sen) before entering the express bus departure hall. The RM2 terminal fee does not include the use of toilets.

The departure board of upcoming express bus departures.

My Mayang Sari Express bus is stated to depart from Gate C, however, it was not in operation.

Instead, all buses used Gates A and B.

Boarding passes are checked once again at the gate counter before boarding the bus.

My Mayang Sari Express bus was at Platform B12, which is indeed right in front of Gate C.

The interior of my 30-seater Mayang Sari Express bus.

My booked single seat at 19.

The legroom on board the 30-seater Mayang Sari Express bus.

Interestingly, there is a full-fledged calf rest despite the tighter legroom on this 10-row bus. The calf rest could not be extended out to the maximum height without feeling some twist in my ankles.

More surprisingly, 2 USB power sockets are located beside my seat. What a premium on this cheap-fare bus.

My Mayang Sari Express bus was not full which got me a bit worried as I thought the bus would be delayed till the next departure time to combine bus passengers.

To my pleasant surprise, this did not happen, and my Mayang Sari Express bus departed from Johor Bahru Larkin Sentral at 1.32pm – 2 minutes delayed.

Heading on the Skudai Highway.

There was quite a jam from Tampoi to Skudai, probably due to the weather and road conditions. It was a bit of a crawl to get to the PLUS Highway.

Heading onto the PLUS Highway at Skudai Toll Plaza.

It was a rainy day and my Mayang Sari Express bus drove a bit slower than normal, perhaps due to the traffic too.

More surprisingly, there were no breaks on board this Mayang Sari Express bus, and the bus ran non-stop from toll to toll.

Exiting from the PLUS Highway at UPM Toll Plaza.

Heading on the Sungai Besi Expressway parallel to the PLUS Highway at Serdang.

Passing by Serdang Railway Station.

Heading on parallel to the KTM and ERL tracks.

Heading through the Mines Utara Toll Plaza.

Passing under Sungai Besi MRT and LRT Stations.

Approaching Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS).

Kuala Lumpur Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS)

My Mayang Sari Express bus arrived at Kuala Lumpur Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) at 5.35pm, making this a journey of 4 hours and 3 minutes, or 4 hours and 5 minutes if taking into account the scheduled departure time. This had been a super-express point-to-point journey from JB to KL with no  other stops or breaks in between.

The arrival hall of Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS).

The façade of Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS).

I scheduled a transit time for dinner in Kuala Lumpur before continuing on my journey to Bangkok, next by Billion Stars Express to Butterworth Penang Sentral.

Conclusion

Despite the cheaper ticket price, Mayang Sari Express was professional in the JB-KL bus route with no other terminals or cities served for this direct route, and a reasonably-on-time departure from Larkin Sentral with just 2 minutes of delay. I was also pleasantly surprised that there was no combined bus happening with my bus having many empty seats, despite the frequent Mayang Sari Express departures listed. No stops for any breaks or even refuelling were made, but I’m sure that if you do require one, informing the driver would get you one at the next available R&R.

Singapore to Bangkok for under S$50!