Honolulu transportation officials aim to replace 18 old city buses with new, fuel-efficient models by next week.

The new buses will offer more new perks such as ramps that make it easier for disabled passengers to board, quieter air conditioning, video surveillance for security and brighter LED exterior signs, said Roger Morton, president and general manager of Oahu Transit Services. The nonprofit company, which acts partly as a city entity and partly as an independent operator, runs TheBus and Handi-Van services for the city.

"They’re going to be a real shot in the arm for the city," Morton said of the 18 new buses.

He joined Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell to show off one of the new buses — complete with that new-bus smell — in front of Honolulu Hale on Wednesday.

Putting the vehicles on the road will complete a push to replenish the bus system with 68 new buses in the past two years, officials say, at a cost of $29.9 million. The federal government will pay $19.6 million of the price and the city will cover the rest.

The city will probably sell the old buses to one of the neighbor island counties at a nominal fee — that’s the route they’ve taken with old buses in the past and it’s cheaper than paying to dispose of them, Caldwell spokesman Jesse Broder Van Dyke said.

TheBus fleet contains 524 buses, and about 240,000 passengers use TheBus system each day, according to OTS.

Even with the new buses, Honolulu maintains one of the older public bus fleets in the nation, Morton said Wednesday.

"Some systems keep the buses for 13, 14, 15 years," Morton said. "We’re up around 18 or 19 years" — and many of the buses log about a million miles during their years in the fleet, he said.

"Even though it’s an old fleet, it’s well-kept-up."

In recent years legal challenges have hindered the city’s efforts to replace the vehicles in its aging Handi-Van fleet. However, city officials said they haven’t had the same problems with TheBus.

Each of the new buses will generate about $8,000 in savings a year in better mileage, Morton said.

The fleet also maintains about 80 buses with hybrid technology, OTS officials said. Those hybrid buses see substantial savings in fuel costs but they also cost about $200,000 more than the regular buses, Morton said.

Also on Wednesday, city officials announced that King Street bus stops in Chinatown and downtown will reopen at 3 p.m. Saturday. The stops, at River, Maunakea, Bethel, Alakea and Richards streets, were closed due to construction and the bus lines were re-routed to Hotel Street.