Shuttle service comes in red, blue and yellow

A pair of local investors are inviting Newport visitors to hop on board a new transportation system that will run along the coast, making stops at Fashion Island, Corona del Mar and the Balboa Pier.

The OC Cruiser is a new high-end transit system launched by attorney Sabrina Dagostino and Dave Muller of the Newport Beach Nautical museum.

“The idea came to Dave when he was brainstorming ways to get people down there,” Dagostino said of the museum, which recently purchased the Balboa Fun Zone and is planning to relocate the museum near the historic carousel and Ferris wheel.

OC Cruiser organizers are quick to point out the new transportation line is not a bus, but instead feels like a high-end shuttle service, designed to look like a classic Woodie car with bamboo ceilings and wood-panel sides. The interior is plush with leather seats, flat-screen televisions beaming surf videos and a high-tech sound system. A ride on the OC Cruiser is $5 one way, or $8 for an all-day pass.

The OC Cruiser will operate three separate travel routes with four different shuttles every day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The Red Line will run from the Balboa Pier to Newport Boulevard, the Blue Line will run from the Newport Beach Pier down Pacific Coast Highway to Corona del Mar village, and the Yellow Line will travel from the peninsula to Fashion Island and Newport Center hotels.

The transportation line is drawing applause from the tourist community which is hopeful it will get visitors around more easily.

“It’s going to help with transportation from one destination to the next,” said Jessica Roswell of the Newport Beach Conference and Visitor’s Bureau. “We tend to be a rental car location, and I think this will help fulfill that need.”

Roswell said the service will fight congestion and keep people who aren’t familiar with the area off the road. Audio information will be provided about the different stops throughout Newport Beach, which will be designated with special markers denoting certain stops. The hub of the cruiser will be in front of the Newport Pier, and shuttles are expected to hit each stop every half-hour.

While the OC Cruiser will be primarily marketed to tourists, a large part of the shuttle line’s business will come from locals. The OC Cruiser will make stops at the Balboa Peninsula Albertsons in Mariner’s Mile and the Centennial Plaza in Corona del Mar ? all areas frequented by day-to-day shopping. The OC Cruiser also will operate a special line to transport junior lifeguards to the beach during the summer months.

“That way, kids won’t have to ride their bikes on PCH or Newport Blvd.,” Dagostino said.

The venture will initially be privately funded, but Dagostino said she hopes to secure Measure M funding for the OC Cruiser if the sales-tax initiative is renewed at the November election. dpt.22-bizcover-C.1PhotoInfoP71R6BAB20060522izn03fnc(LA)The Cruiser looks like a Woodie.