The Montgomery County Department of Transportation will add four electric Ride On buses by 2019 after receiving a $1.75 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration Sept. 15. These buses will be the first in the Ride On service that are entirely electric and release zero emissions.

The FTA awarded the grant as part of the Low or No Vehicle Emissions Program, and it will cover the cost of four buses and their charging stations.

“The 100 percent electric bus is very aerodynamic,” County Chief of the Division of Transit Services Dan Hibbert told Bethesda Magazine on Sept. 29 of this year. “It’s very comfortable and there are zero pollutants.”

Bus manufacturer Proterra is building the buses at a cost of $700,000 per bus, around $200,000 more than a traditional diesel bus. The grant will cover the deficit in addition to the $50,000 charging stations.

Esther Bowring, Communications Manager for MCDOT, says that the electric buses are a beneficial step towards environmental protection and emission reduction.

“We have a lot of goals for the county, and one of them is to decrease emissions,” Bowring said. ”These buses will definitely help by releasing no pollutants into the environment.”

Sophomore Wesley Smith, a Ride On bus user, also welcomed the new, eco-friendly buses.

“I think it’s a great step in the right direction of saving resources and also influences other people within the area to move toward renewable resources,” Smith said. “Things like this should be done, especially in Montgomery County, where we have the ability and resources to implement them.”