“In a way the routes don’t matter,” she said. “It comes down to the type of vehicle and the number of trips.”

But Tyler said that he would only use two Hydra-terras and that each would make three two-hour trips a day. He added that the vehicles would only travel on major roads and would avoid elementary schools.

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

Meanwhile, the double-decker bus plan is speeding ahead.

Russell G. Cushman, who is the president of the Charles Riverboat Company, said that he will offer the bus tours separately and in conjunction with his company’s boat tours on the Charles River.

“We’ll run one bus every hour [starting in late April] until summer, when we’ll run two buses, one every half-hour,” he said.

Cushman said that the guided bus tours will run on a continuous loop.  The buses will stop across from Au Bon Pain in Harvard Square, then weave through the Harvard campus, cross the Harvard Bridge, do a short spin in Boston, and then go to the CambridgeSide Galleria Mall. The loop will last one hour.        

Thieringer praised the route as a supplement for public transportation.

“It has always been a challenge to get people from Harvard Square to the Galleria on public transportation,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a good addition to the city, a nice link.”

Cushman has purchased two red double-decker buses—a 1963 Routemaster and a 1964 Routemaster—and hopes to purchase more. Both buses once cruised the streets of London before coming to New England.

Cushman said that last year he used the buses for private group tours and charters. He added that he will use them for those purposes this year, as well, but because the buses have open tops, the tours will only run from April to October. “The real charm of the buses, even though it’s a great loop, the real fun is riding on top and that wouldn’t be as enjoyable out of season,” Cushman said.

Harvard Square Business Association Executive Director Robin Lapidus praised the uniqueness of the double-decker buses and predicted that they would be used.

“The red tour buses are unlike anything else in New England. They’ll stand out,” she said.

Nathans agreed and said that Cushman had made a concerted effort to get community input for his plan.                

“He came in and talked to the tourism board. He did everything right. He talked to all the constituencies. He met with the Defense Fund several times.