MBTA to Place 'Square' Buses In Round Tunnel

Diesel-powered buses now stopping in Harvard Square begin today to use an underground tunnel as their terminal for a three month trial period.

The tunnel runs from in front of the Littauer Center for Public Administration to Brattle Square; it is already being used by electric-powered buses.

Constant checks will be made to determine if the buses are emitting any harmful fumes in the tunnel. The buses are equipped with catalytic muillers designed to eliminate noxious gasses from the buzes exhausts. The muillers have been approved by the State Department of Health.

Samplings of the opinions of bus riders will also be taken to see if they prefer waiting in the underground terminal rather than on the surface.

If these tests indicate the underground route is desirable, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, which runs the buses, and the State Department of Public Utilities, which must approve all route changes, will presumably make the new terminal permanent. The DPU approved the three-month trial period in mid-December.

City Councillor Thomas H. D. Mahoney, a vigorous proponent of the underground route, has predicted that the new arrangement will case traffic congestion in the Square and make conditions safer for both motorists and pedestrians.

On Dec. 7, Alan McClennen '33. Camblidge Planning Director, told the City Council that the MBTA was 100 per cent for the idea of running the buses into the tunnel. Buses running on electric power already use the tunnel as their Harvard Square station, he added.