In 2013 King County Metro (KCM, Seattle) placed an order for 141 IMC electric trolley buses built by New Flyer and KIEPE. The initial contract included options for up to 530 buses. KCM exercised an option to buy another 33 vehicles. SFMTA - also known as MUNI (San Francisco) followed suit and ordered 60 articulated buses as part of this contract, followed by 33 and another 185 electric buses. KCM and SFMTA have the two largest electric trolley bus fleets in the United States, providing green transportation alternatives.

Seattle has 70 miles of two-way overhead wire and steep hills (19%). San Francisco operates 140 miles of two-way overhead with extremely steep inclines up to 23%. The zero emission electric IMC buses are quiet and energy efficient. Studies have confirmed they are preferable for moving riders in hilly and dense urban environments. The new buses have the ability to operate off-wire. This feature allows the buses to reliably reroute around collisions and construction sites and to expand existing routes. 

The buses are built by New Flyer in Crookston, MN. KIEPE manufactures the electric bus components in Alpharetta, GA in compliance with local and federal requirements, including Buy America. KIEPE and New Flyer have previously cooperated on the delivery of 262 electric trolley buses to Vancouver and 38 electric trolley buses to Philadelphia. For operation on steep inclines, a new KIEPE traction control (KTC) software was developed. KTC implies plenty of innovations and additional customer benefits such as less energy consumption, faster acceleration on slipper ground and a reduction of noise and vibration resulting in less wear and maintenance costs.