King County Metro Transit announced on Monday, June 17, that it will be replacing its worn-out buses with electric trolley buses.

Metro is working with New Flyer, maker of all-electric coaches that use one-third less energy. The initial purchase is for up to 141 buses, about 10 percent of the current Metro fleet. The contact with New Flyer totals up to $164 million.

“Electric trolleys have a lot of fans, and I’m one of them,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “They’re quiet, they run clean, they’re part of our transit heritage, and studies confirm they’re the best for moving riders in our very hilly and dense urban environment.”

The first prototype is expected in Seattle beginning in 2014, and riders will begin to see them on the roads in 2015.