The green route is about to get even greener.

Howard County is adding three electric buses to its fleet – full-size, lightweight buses that do not get plugged in, but rather power up by parking on top of a large pad and charging through something called electromagnetic induction.

The buses will run on the county bus system's green route, which is the route with the most riders, driving to The Mall in Columbia, Howard Community College and Howard County General Hospital.

The cost? $4.7 million, including funding for the buses, charging system, an information station, a transit shelter, and advertising and promotion, according to county government spokesman Kevin Enright.

$3.7 million of that cost will come from grants from the Federal Transit Administration's "Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction" program.

The remaining money will come from the project's participants: Howard County Government, Howard Community College, Central Maryland Regional Transit Corporation, Howard Hughes Corporation/General Growth Properties, and The Center for Transportation and the Environment.

"I believe this grant is a major indication of the momentum downtown Columbia is gaining," Howard County Executive Ken Ulman said in a statement. "It is a validation of the community's vision for a more vital, sustainable and transit-oriented downtown.

"This greener mode of public transportation is another example of our commitment to saving the environment and saving money."