King County Executive Dow Constantine is taking action to ensure that King County Metro remains one of the greenest major transit agencies in the nation, by authorizing Metro to test a new generation of battery-powered, zero-emission buses.

“Ten years after King County began replacing older buses with hybrid-electric models, we now have technology that holds the promise of an even cleaner and more energy-efficient fleet,” said Constantine.

Thanks to a $4.7 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration, Metro recently signed a deal with Proterra Inc. to replace two older buses with 40-foot heavy-duty battery electric buses. With two-thirds of its buses now all or partially powered by electricity, Metro plans to make its entire fleet even greener by 2018.