The Metropolitan Transit District adds eight hybrid-electric buses to it fleet today. Photo courtesy of MTD

The hybrids will replace six old buses, expanding the fleet by two, for a total of 98 MTD buses on the South Coast. Most of the cost of the new $580,000 hybrids is paid for by the federal government.

Sixty people -- including Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, Mayor Marty Blum and several members of the City Council -- took two of the new buses on an inaugural ride to the waterfront and back this morning.

Hybrid buses are quieter and less polluting than buses that use only diesel fuel. They run on a blend of electricity, which is supplied by a battery pack on the roof, and diesel fuel for an engine in the rear. The engine itself is no larger than that of a Dodge pickup.

When the bus starts up at a bus stop, it gets 100 percent of its power from electricity. As it gathers speed, the diesel engine kicks in. When the bus starts to slow down, the momentum of the vehicle itself acts as a generator and restores the batteries.

The MTD's hybrid-electric buses, which cost $580,000, will replace six old buses and expand the fleet by two. Photo courtesy of MTD

There are a total of 80 diesel-powered buses in the MTD fleet today, including the eight new hybrids.

On May 1, in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and use renewable fuels, MTD will become the first transit agency in California to start using biodiesel fuel, district officials said.

Initially, 5 percent of the diesel fuel in MTD buses will be replaced with soybean-based biodiesel fuel. By the summer, the buses will be using a blend that is 20 percent biodiesel, officials said.

— Melinda Burns