Vamoose May Not Leave the Station

A direct bus link—complete with wireless Internet access—from Harvard to New York seemed too good to be true.

It appears that it was.

Just one week before the expected take-off of the new Vamoose bus line, the company has run into an obstacle: Boston and Cambridge officials say that Vamoose does not have permission to load and unload passengers on the street.

“We are not planning on giving any curbside to any bus company of this type,” said Jim Mansfield, director of community affairs for the Boston Transportation Department.

Likewise, Vamoose did not approach the Cambridge Traffic, Parking and Transportation Department to ask for permission to park in front of Widener Gate until The Boston Globe reported Wednesday that the company had not received permits in Boston, according to Susan Clippinger, director of the Cambridge traffic department.

Vamoose plans to charge $22 for a one-way ticket between Boston and New on buses with free wireless Internet and guaranteed seating.

Clippinger said the application for parking space was e-mailed to her yesterday and that it is currently being reviewed.

But she noted that even if the request is approved, the original parking location on Mass. Ave. will be altered.

“One of our frustrations is that the space they are requesting is one of the most congested areas in Harvard Square,” said Clippinger, adding that the department will be searching for a better parking spot.

Florence Bluzenstein, the co-owner of Vamoose, said yesterday that the lack of permission to park in Boston and Cambridge will have no impact on Vamoose’s services or prices.

She said the only thing that will change is where the bus leaves from.

But Clippinger indicated that the department may not be able to approve Vamoose’s application before its first scheduled run on Nov. 8.

And if Boston does not give Vamoose permission to operate off of a curbside, moving to South Station will not be an option because there is no space there, according to Bluzenstein.

Isaac Wollner, Vamoose’s manager of operations, said in an interview that the company will operate by moving “our stop to where the city of Boston told us.” But Mansfield denied that the city had approved an alternate site for the stop, reiterating that the city does not plan on allowing Vamoose to operate off of a curbside anywhere in the city.

The company might not have much more success in Cambridge, either.

“It’s million and one problems for a scheduled bus to just stop somewhere on the street,” Clippinger said of the pending application. “I would love not to approve it.”