TV Mobile

So I was on the public bus these past days for one reason or another. The car being out of commission until the weekend. What hit me while on the bus was not the sardine-like conditions but the incessant noise emanating from the TV Mobile console.

For those not familiar with TV Mobile. It's the brand name of a free-to-air TV station on most public buses in Singapore. Commuters get to watch news and re-runs of local TV programme while on the bus. Not a bad idea until you realise that the volume is perpetually turned up to drown out the engine noise. I suspect this is done so that the advertisements may be heard regardless of traffic and crowd conditions.


Photo credit: www.coverville.com

TV images I can ignore but it's really hard to even think properly when I have the equivalent of someone shouting into my ears for the entire journey. I don't need to know, for the 101st time, that MacDonald's is giving away $10,000 dollars in a lucky draw. And I certainly don't need the entire cast of Phua Chu Kang teaching me the finer points of Singlish.

There is absolutely no private space on public buses nowadays. Not even private space for personal thoughts. I'm very sure that there are laws against such things in enlightened countries.