LEAKING air-conditioners. Torn seats. Peeling paintwork.

Commuters will soon see less of these on buses, as transport operators give their older vehicles makeovers during the next few years.

SMRT said yesterday it plans to have 85 per cent of its fleet, or 731 buses, upgraded within the next eight years at a cost of $26 million.

It has already refurbished about 170 buses, most about 11 to 13 years old, since early last year.

Bus operator SBS Transit said it has also been regularly retrofitting its eight- to nine-year-old buses.

While public buses in Singapore have a legislated lifespan of 17 years, both operators said mid-life upgrading is needed to ensure that buses remain comfortable for commuters.

The average age of both operators' buses is 10 years.

The improvements range from servicing bus air-conditioning systems to replacing seats and corroded floorboards.

MP Lim Biow Chuan, a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, said the upgrading of buses should help make journeys more comfortable.

'This will perhaps be a good incentive for people to move to public transport. After all, if you want them to switch, you have to make sure it's up to the mark,' he said.

In SMRT's eight-year plan, more than 50 modifications will be made to each bus, said Mr Tan Teong Joo, deputy director of SMRT Automotive Services.

Among the major changes is the resealing of bus windows and changing of the emergency exits, he said.

Commuters can also look forward to new vinyl seats. Mr Tan said that the previous ones, which had velvet coverings, got the thumbs-down from some commuters with skin allergies.

The changes are not purely cosmetic, though. SMRT will also replace worn-out parts in air pressure and brake systems.

Commuters, like postgraduate student Michelle Kok, 29, were pleased to hear about the makeovers.

'Sometimes the seats on buses are wet because the air-con is leaking. Or (sometimes) the rubber on the handles at the backs of seats is torn off,' she said.

Besides sprucing up their old buses, operators have also purchased new ones.

SMRT plans to buy 130 new buses, with the first batch set to hit the roads in the middle of this year.

SBS, which bought 700 new vehicles over the last two years, is still rolling out buses from its new fleet.

ghimlay@sph.com.sg