Johor Bus Guide: Local Buses Between Kulai, Air Hitam, Yong Peng, Kluang & Batu Pahat in Central Johor
- Rick
- May 30
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 22
Ever tried travelling using domestic buses between the towns of Kulai, Kluang, Ayer Hitam (Air Hitam), Yong Peng and Batu Pahat in 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 stumble on — the bus services. I am sharing what I know in this post for whoever interested in exploring the local towns of central 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 (cum rest stop) and local bus terminal, whereas the rest have single terminals.
Kulai District is to the north of Johor Bahru District and easily accessible from Johor Bahru via domestic buses from JB Sentral, Larkin Sentral and trains from JB Sentral.
Kluang District is 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 (more info. below).
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.
Inter-Town Local Bus Services
For all bus services mentioned below, fare payments are in cash only (as of 1 June 2025). Bus drivers DO provide change for fares but do prepare small notes in case they run out of small change too.
Larkin ⇌ Kulai ⇌ Ayer Hitam
City Bus 2 traverses between Larkin Sentral and Ayer Hitam Bus Terminal and makes a brief stop at Kulai Bus Terminal. The service departs from Larkin Sentral and Ayer Hitam Bus Terminal at hourly intervals between 7:40am to 6:40pm.
More info: City Bus 2
Kulai-Ayer Hitam Green Transit Liner (GTL) traverses between Kulai Bus Terminal and Ayer Hitam Bus Terminal but using another route from City Bus 2.
Schedule:
Ayer Hitam Bus Terminal & Kulai Bus Terminal: 8am, 11am, 2pm, 5pm.
More info: Kulai-Ayer Hitam GTL (Facebook)
Batu Pahat ⇌ Ayer Hitam ⇌ Kluang
The non-air-condition Johore Motor Bus 56 traverses the route between Kluang Bus Terminal and Batu Pahat Bus Terminal and with an intermediate stop at Ayer Hitam Bus Terminal in both directions.
Schedule:
A handwritten note in Kluang Bus Terminal entailed the schedule from Kluang as:
6am, 7am, 8:15am, 9:15am, 10:15am, 11:20am,
12:15pm, 1pm, 1:45pm, 2:30pm, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm.
Fare:
Ayer Hitam ⇌ Kluang: RM2.50
Kluang ⇌ Batu Pahat: RM5.60 (full fare)
Causeway Link 8 is a new service that traverses between Batu Pahat Bus Terminal and Ayer Hitam Bus Terminal. It uses a slightly different route from Johore Motor Bus 56. The service has irregular service frequency — 25~35 minutes interval during morning and noon peak hours and 40~50 minutes off-peak.
Note: Despite being operated by Causeway Link, the service accepts cash only. No ManjaLink card yet as at 1 June 2025.
More info: Causeway Link 8
Ayer Hitam ⇌ Yong Peng ⇌ Segamat
Yow Hoe Bus traverses between Ayer Hitam Bus Terminal and Segamat Bus Terminal and will make a brief stop at Yong Peng Bus Terminal — not the express bus terminal at Ming Ang Restaurant — in both directions. However, there are few services a day and information on its schedule is hard to find online.
Schedule:
Known timing from Ayer Hitam Bus Terminal: 2:30pm
Batu Pahat ⇌ Yong Peng
Green Transit Liner GTL 03 services the route between Batu Pahat Bus Terminal and Yong Peng Bus Terminal via Sri Gading and Parit Yaani, and passes by Ming Ang Express Bus Terminal in Yong Peng.
Schedule:
From Batu Pahat Bus Terminal:
7.30am, 8.30am, 9.30am, 11.30am, 12.30pm,
1.30pm, 3.30pm, 4.30pm, 5.30pm
From Yong Peng Bus Terminal:
7.30am, 9.30am, 10.30am, 11.30am, 1.30pm
2.30pm, 3.30pm, 5.30pm, 6.30pm
Fare:
Yong Peng ⇌ Batu Pahat: RM4
More info: Batu Pahat-Yong Peng GTL (Facebook)
Mayang Sari MSYP004 services the route between Batu Pahat Bus Terminal and Yong Peng Bus Terminal via Parit Yaani, and passes by Ming Ang Express Bus Terminal in Yong Peng too.
Schedule:
Known timing from Yong Peng Bus Terminal: 3pm
Fare:
Yong Peng ⇌ Batu Pahat: RM3.50
The simple diagram that I created above will better illustrate all services and their start & end terminals.
Travel Experience
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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