Amid the mixed reactions that have greeted the ongoing push to go cashless at train stations, 82-year-old Bruno Wildermuth has emerged as a vocal and unusual critic.

The Swiss national's interest in Singapore's public transport system stems from his critical - if little-known - role in MRT's history: The former transport consultant helped to convince founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 1980 to go ahead with the MRT project even though a team from Harvard had advised the Government that an all-bus system would work better.