DOWNTOWN — Loading up the car with holiday presents should become a thing of the past — at least that’s what officials at the Big Blue Bus are hoping.
To alleviate traffic congestion downtown and on Main Street during the busy shopping season, the bus company has unveiled new “Shopper Shuttles”that will take visitors from their cars to some of the city’s most popular destinations.
For 50 cents a ride, shoppers can pick up the ultimate gingerbread house kit at Sur La Table on Wilshire Boulevard in downtown, hop on a shuttle and travel to Patagonia on Main Street for some camping gear.
The shuttles, which will run from Nov. 24 to Dec. 24, will hit all of the downtown parking structures, the Main Library and all Farmers’ Markets, allowing shoppers to “park once,and shop all day,”said Dan Dawson,customer relations manager for the bus company.
The shuttles, which will operate from noon to 8 p.m. on weekdays and noon to 10 p.m. on weekends, at 30 feet will be smaller than regular buses and be wrapped in a “giant,beautiful blue cover with a package on it, each one underwrit-ten by a community sponsor,”said Dawson.
So far, the Geffen Playhouse has helped wrap two shuttles, Fatburger one and there are discussions ongoing for a fourth sponsor.
In addition to the shuttles, city officials are close to purchasing a used trolley from a city in Rhode Island for roughly $100,000, Dawson said.
“If the feedback from the community is really positive and everyone likes the trolley as much as we think they will, we will probably get four or five more,” Dawson said.
The new services are part of City Hall’s “Mini Blue,” a program designed specifically for residents that will feature smaller, alternatively-fueled shuttles that will run on various routes throughout the city, intended to serve those who wish to run to the market or the doctor’s office without having to worry about finding a parking place. Mini Blue buses will begin rolling out in mid-2007.
“We are trying to create a system of short routes that will allow people who live in Santa Monica to keep their cars in their garages,” Dawson said. “A lot of the input we’ve received from residents and the City Council is a desire for bus service that serves short trips to the grocery store or other places of business, shopping areas.”
“We are trying to create a system of short routes that will allow people who live in Santa Monica to keep their cars in their garages.” — DAN DAWSON, CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGER FOR THE BIG BLUE BUS
How far the bus company goes with Mini Blue depends on whether or not residents get on board.
“If the public likes (the Shopper Shuttles), we may make them permanent, or just bring it back every year for the holidays,” Dawson said.“It is just a demonstration project now, but if the public is behind it, it could definitely become part of our normal bus service.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 4, 2006. Read the original PDF.