IT WAS a piece of news that barely registered on the radar this week - but one that has caused much rejoicing among commuters.
I'm talking, of course, about the imminent demise of TV Mobile, that scourge of peace-loving bus passengers all over the island.
Earlier this week, Mediacorp announced that it is discontinuing the free-to-air mobile TV service that is mostly available on SBS Transit buses, essentially because it can't afford its "substantial costs" anymore.
Cue sighs of relief all over the Twitterverse, blogosphere and Facebook, as people rapidly spread the news online.
"Maybe now I won't go deaf from having my earphones play music at top volume just to drown out TV mobile!" said one friend.
Since 2001, long-suffering Singaporeans have had to endure a goggle box on almost every bus we took.
The motive of installing these infernal machines, we were told, was to provide a more entertaining journey, but we all knew that it was just to bombard us with advertising.
Peaceful bus journeys became a thing of the past. No longer could you take a nap, or quietly appreciate the scenery outside your window.
Instead, we were slowly sucked into a vortex of crappy Chinese variety shows and Just for Laugh gags from the 1990s.
Complaints - and there have been many over the years - have ranged from its loud volume to bad reception. Old uncles and aunties clutch their hearts every time the sound system emits an ear-piercing glitchy shriek.
The programming is equally suspect. I never understood why they keep playing reruns of Channel 8 serials - what about passengers who can't understand Chinese? True, they come with English subtitles but because the screen is so small, the words can be read only if you have hawk-eyed vision.
And what is the point of watching TV on a bus anyway, when these days commuters have their iPods, Nintendo DS, books and newspapers to keep them company?
So my fellow commuters, rejoice. Rejoice at our freedom from tyranny. Thank the recession gods for plucking out that thorn in our sides.