This should be an embarrassment to SMRT. It looks like they forgot to pay their bills. Their corporate website www.smrtbuses.com.sg is now inaccessible, because apparently the license for their Blue Coat proxy appliance has expired. Maybe it’s time to raise bus fares again, so that they have enough revenue to pay for their IT operating expenses. Not only is there inflation, rising fuel prices, wage increases, but there is also IT costs to grapple with.

Instead of spending money on blinking map displays, probably public transport operators should focus more on making their services more frequent, more reliable, and more convenient. I’ve seen blinking map displays overseas. They are certainly helpful to tourists. Are we trying to copy them in order to be “world class”? Hey, serve the locals first. There are many more important things on our wish list than blinking map displays.