ALL small buses which carry up to 15 passengers must be fitted with three-point seatbelts and front-facing seats by end-2013.

Those ferrying school children will have to comply by end-2011.

The Government will fork out $35 million to help defray the bulk of the cost of this massive safety exercise, which affects about 6,400 buses, or 45 per cent of the bus population here.

Operators of existing buses who install the seatbelts earlier will get higher assistance of $4,000, and school bus owners will be given an additional $3,000 if they do it in the first year of implementation.

On top of these, school bus operators that ferry children under eight years old stand to get another $1,000 in assistance.

About 1,200 of the 6,400 small buses carry school children.

Transport Minister Raymond Lim announced in May that all new small buses must be installed with seat belts, and tasked the Land Transport Authority (LTA) to carry out a study to see if this should also be imposed on existing buses.

Besides its own studies, LTA also engaged international consultants and safety experts Hall and Associates LLC from Washington DC to look into seatbelt safety.

The findings from the consultant showed that small buses pose the most serious bus safety challenge in Singapore, and it recommended that all passenger seats should have seatbelts with retractors and be forward-facing.

Its recommendations were accepted by the LTA, which will implement the seatbelt requirements on all new small buses from April 1.

LTA said priority in retrofitting will be given to existing fleet of school buses. It will also phase in the move to minimise disruption to existing operations.

The seatbelt requirement will see a drop in seating capacity of school buses after they have been retrofitted.

"Hence, school bus operators need adequate time to retrofit their fleet and to make up for the shortfall in capacity," said LTA, which will appoint workshops to carry out the retrofitting and authorised vehicle inspection centres to check for compliance.

LTA's chief executive Yam Ah Mee said on Thursday: 'We recognise that this is a major retrofitting programme which will impact many stakeholders. Prior to the implementation we consulted them, to take on board their views and to access the impact of implementing.'

Welcoming the seatbelt ruling, Mr Michael Wong, vice-president of the Motor Traders Association said: "Our members are comfortable with the implementation schedule. We will work closely with the LTA and bus operators to ensure smooth transition."

Mr Wong Ann Lin, chairman of the Singapore School Transport Association added: 'We understand the need for safety to come first and with our constant consultations with LTA, we believe that this new requirement is achievable.'