The first Cybrids have landed in Ames.

CyRide is adding 12 hybrid busses, along with 3 diesel busses to its fleet of 59.

Five more busses are expected to arrive this week, and the plan is to have all busses mixed in on the regular routes this fall.

Sheri Kyras, director of CyRide, said 10 of the busses were funded through Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants.

The rest of the busses were paid for through stimulus funding grants.

Kyras said the busses are expected to save a little money, because they run at 4 to 5 mpg compared to the regular busses, which run at 2.6 to 4 mpg.

Kyras said other fleets that have transitioned to hybrid vehicles say the maintenance isn’t much different than a regular bus. The Cybrids are also expected to bring with them significant air quality benefits.

“We’ve got 12 now, and we will see how they fit into the community and so forth. If they work, we will work to get additional grants for hybrid vehicles. It’s a demonstration to see if it’s a good thing to expand the program even further,” Kyras said.

CyRide is planning to unveil its new busses in August.