Metro Vehicles
King County Metro has many types of vehicles to get you where you want to go. All of King County Metro's buses are accessible to persons who cannot climb steps; most are equipped with wheelchair lifts, while some buses are low floor with a ramp.
Metro takes its commitment to clean air seriously. To begin with, just riding the bus instead of driving reduces emissions and saves fossil fuel. Metro's buses are required to meet the emission standards in effect when the bus is built. Heavy-duty diesel engines used in transit buses must meet more stringent EPA standards than diesel engines used in trucks. The EPA makes the emission standards more stringent every few years. Buses delivered since 1995 generally have no visible exhaust. As an additional commitment to clean air, Metro retrofitted particulate traps to the 273 1999-2000 New Flyer articulated diesel buses and the 95 1999-2000 Gillig 30 ft diesel buses. These particulate traps or exhaust filters, along with the ultra low sulfur diesel fuel Metro is now using, will further reduce diesel particulates.
Metro has purchased a fleet of hybrid articulated buses to replace the Breda tunnel buses. The hybrid technology, by converting energy normally wasted in braking into electricity and using it to help accelerate the bus, further reduces emissions. The hybrid buses and the New Flyer low floor articulated buses also have particulate traps.
An additional component of Metro's commitment to the environment is its fleet of zero-emission electric trolley buses. These 146 buses provide clean and quiet public transportation on some of Metro's heaviest routes.
The evolution of Metro buses – Take a tour of the buses of yesteryear operated by King County Metro, and before 1973 the antiquated Seattle Transit. Metro's Vehicle Maintenance Supervisor Michael Voris walks Metro's 'Bus Boneyard' and explains how buses have evolved over the past 70 years. We also examine the 22 new diesel hybrids recently added to Metro's fleet. [June 2008]
Real Player streaming video: If you do not have a viewer defined for RAM formatted files, please download the appropriate software, courtesy of RealPlayer [external link].
Choose a vehicle from the navigation bar on the left to find out about some of the vehicles that you can ride as you travel to the destination of your choice in King County.
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