SEPTA buying 525 hybrid buses

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- SEPTA's newly approved budget does not require hiking fares even as the transit agency plans to increase spending by 3 percent.

SEPTA says it will be able to maintain current routes and service levels in its $1.4 billion budget.

Additionally, SEPTA plans to spend $412 million to buy at least 525 new hybrid buses over the next five years.

Officials say it's part of an effort to build one of the cleanest, greenest fleets in the country.

Once complete, hybrids will make up approximately 95 percent of SEPTA buses.