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Hybrid buses will soon take to the streets of Monterey County, thanks to a nearly $800,000 federal grant to Monterey-Salinas Transit, which today became one of 28 transit agencies nationwide to receive an award toward purchasing vehicles with clean-fuel technologies.

"We look forward to being able to use the latest in hybrid electric-clean diesel technology buses," said MST General Manager/CEO Carl Sedoryk in a statement.

MST will use the U.S. Department of Transportation grant to purchase four hybrid diesel-electric minibuses, the first of their kind to be added to the fleet. The grant will cover 83 percent of the cost of the four buses; the remaining portion will be covered using state funds.

Sedoryk also thanked Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) for supporting MST in winning the award. “This grant is truly good for business and good for the environment,” Farr said in a statement. “Through the grant, MST will be able to invest in the technology necessary to lower the carbon imprint in the communities it serves.”

The buses are designed to last two years and 50,000 miles longer than their gas-powered counterparts, while improving fuel efficiency 30 percent.

MST expects the buses to be in service by late 2012 or early 2013. The routes these new buses will serve are yet to be determined.