King County unveils new hybrid transit buses

King County Metro Transit unveiled to the public new hybrid-electric buses Monday, targeting June 5 as the day revenue service will begin for the first 24 vehicles.

In all, 235 new buses have been purchased to replace old buses operating on routes that use the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel.

Twenty-two of the buses will be operated by Sound Transit, while the remaining 213 are King County’s. All will be on the road by the end of the year.

The hybrid bus model operates on low sulfur diesel fuel and electricity generated within the vehicle and stored in batteries on the roof.

The bus was designed by a team of national manufacturers, which included New Flyer of America, Allison Transmission, General Motors and Caterpillar. One bus costs about $645,000.