Mr Yong's reply completely misses the point of Mr Tan's letter.

Mr Tan is not complaining that the audio is too loud and that sound levels need monitoring.

Mr Tan is requesting MediaCorp TV to mute TV Mobile. He said that firstly, anyone who wants to listen to it can tune in to FM 98.3. Secondly, some commuters just want a quiet ride home.

I agree with Mr Tan's request. TV Mobile is an intrusion into a person's right to peace and quiet.

Most commuters have no choice but to take public transport; if revenue from TV Mobile was used to subsidise bus fares, there would be some justification for its existence on buses.

Most mobile phones and MP3 players today come with an FM radio feature.

With a more than 100-per-cent cellphone penetration rate in Singapore and widespread ownership of MP3 players, almost every commuter has the ability to tune in to any radio station he wants. Given such a scenario, a request for peace and quiet is not unreasonable.

This situation would not have happened if SBS Transit did not agree to let MediaCorp install TV Mobile on its buses.

SBS Transit should also be accountable to commuters for service quality in this respect, and ask MediaCorp to mute TV Mobile.

Selene Cheng (Miss)

HERE'S THE NUB...

'No matter how regular the maintenance programme is, the noise level in buses will still be unbearable.'

SOH AH YUEN, reacting to MediaCorp's reply by Mr Yong Han Beng last Saturday, 'TV Mobile is mindful of sound levels on buses'. Mr Soh argues that TV Mobile forces commuters to speak louder to their bus companions in order to be heard and thereby increases noise levels in a bus. He says that he and his wife chanced upon a Service 12 bus recently which did not have TV Mobile. Describing the quiet ride as exhilarating, he recalls telling his wife: 'At long last, sanity has returned on board an SBS bus.'