Ocean Ferry May Give Commuters a Ride in the Fast Lane : Traffic: Shipbuilder floats plan to bypass traffic jams with high-speed boats whisking commuters between Oceanside, San Diego and Los Angeles.

A San Diego County shipbuilder is quietly approaching government agencies for backing to launch high-speed ocean ferry service that would carry commuters from North County to downtown San Diego and to Orange County.

Ted Gurnee, president of San Diego Shipbuilding & Repair of Chula Vista, wants to use Oceanside Harbor as a hub to ferry perhaps 2,000 commuters daily either south or north.

“We estimate that daily we’ll take one lane of cars off the highway,” Gurnee said, proposing a marine highway that he hopes will eventually include car-and-passenger ferry service from San Diego to Los Angeles.

Aiming for 50-knot, nonstop service on vessels carrying 350 passengers each, Gurnee maintains the ferry will be less expensive and at least as fast as vehicle commuting.

Gurnee’s embryonic plan, hinged on market studies and financing, has piqued the interest of transportation officials, including Craig Scott, manager of transportation finance for the San Diego Assn. of Governments.

“I think it’s got some potential. With the traffic in this corridor, we’ve got to look at a lot of alternatives,” Scott said. About 221,000 vehicle trips are made each day on jammed Interstate 5 just north of I-805 near Del Mar, a figure expected to reach 300,000 by year 2010, according to SANDAG.

Scott said discussions are at an “exploratory level” and SANDAG is awaiting information about whether there is a market to support ferry service.

“I don’t think at this point we’d say yea or nay without more details,” Scott said. Gurnee has initiated a yearlong ridership survey to show his proposal would succeed and merit federal funding.

Gurnee has asked SANDAG for federal money to combine with private financing to begin ferry service in mid-1992. He estimates it will cost $20 million for each route--for ships, shuttle buses to the ferries and other facilities.

Still undecided is which route to establish first, Oceanside to San Diego, or Oceanside to Orange County--probably Newport Beach. He said his market analysis shows that many new residents in Oceanside are from Orange County and still commute to jobs there.

Beside his overture to SANDAG, Gurnee has begun discussions with the Urban Mass Transit Administration, which funnels federal transportation funds through regional planning agencies like SANDAG.

Gurnee, a retired Navy officer, is counting on his experience with ship building and operating to secure financing and approval for the ferry service.

In 1989, through his subsidiary, Hawaii Ocean Transit System, he entered a 20-year agreement with the state of Hawaii to operate commuter ferries in Honolulu.

That service is to begin early next year, according to Calvin Tsuda, deputy director of the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s harbors division.

Tsuda said Gurnee responded to the state’s request for proposals to initiate ferry service as part of an overall program to reduce traffic in Honolulu.

Tsuda said transportation officials believe commuters will be attracted to the ferries. “I think from what we’ve seen, there’s interest in using the service. . . . I think it’ll help the (traffic) situation. The more cars we can take off the road, it will help alleviate the congestion.”

Hawaii paid for construction of on-shore terminals and Gurnee raised private funding to build and operate the ferries, according to Gurnee and Tsuda.

In another venture, Gurnee inaugurated SeaJet Cruise Lines boat trips to Catalina Island from both San Diego and Oceanside. The San Diego-Catalina run began in April, 1990, followed in August by the Oceanside-Catalina route.

Gurnee said the passenger count for the first, partial year of operation was a disappointing 20,000 people, which he blames on the recession and the Gulf War’s affect on tourism. However, he predicts 40,000 people will voyage to Catalina aboard his boats this year.

“It’s a real nice attraction to have in North County,” said Oceanside Harbor Master Don Hadley, who described Gurnee as “a very dynamic businessman.”

“I think he’s a true entrepreneur. He looks for a service that’s needed and works to find a market,” Hadley said.

Beside the SeaJet operation, Gurnee recently became the lease holder for Cape Cod Village, a picturesque tourist attraction of 11 gift shops and restaurants owned by the Oceanside Harbor District.

Now, Gurnee, who believes that freeway congestion in San Diego and Orange counties signals that “the time is here,” is in the early stages of promoting his plan for Oceanside-based ferry commuter service.

“The car is our target, we’ve got to prove we can get you there faster,” said Gurnee.

The primary market would include workers who commute between fixed points at regular hours. He envisions buses taking commuters from parking lots to the ferries.

Although it’s too soon to announce fares, Gurnee believes it would probably cost $2.50 each way. He said the 50-knot vessels he proposes to use would make the Oceanside-San Diego trip in 40 to 45 minutes. He envisions indoor lounge areas where people can read the paper, watch television or eat breakfast during the trip.

“We’re treating you with first-class service at sea level,” he said.

Eventually, Gurnee hopes to convert to different engines to increase speed and quicken the commute time.

Oceanside was chosen as the starting point for the ferry service because of its existing harbor and because it is an ocean gateway for North County residents with jobs in San Diego or Orange County.

However, one key question Gurnee is relying on his ridership survey to answer is whether a significant number of North County residents outside of Oceanside would be willing to travel to catch the ferry service.

As SANDAG’s Scott observed: “Most folks would have to drive north (to Oceanside) to then go south on a boat.”

Another critical question is whether Gurnee can put together private and government financing. “We’re going through the financial fund-raising stage right now,” he said, adding, “I want to be eligible for anything (from federal sources) that a public (transit) operator is eligible for.”

Gurnee said he’s also working with Dillon, Read & Co., a New York investment bank for government agencies and the public sector, to arrange financing.

Word of Gurnee’s plan has not yet spread throughout San Diego County’s transit and maritime communities.

Don Nay, executive director of the San Diego Port Authority, said he hadn’t heard of the proposed ferry service, although he wouldn’t expect to until Gurnee had gotten initial approval and then sought “someplace to land and tie up” his vessels.

Nay characterized Gurney as both “an experienced person” and someone capable of promoting an idea.

“He’s a salesman,” said Nay. “I think his strongest point is familiarity with the problems and opportunities” of ocean transportation, he added.

So far, it doesn’t appear that local transportation agencies would regard Gurnee’s plan as a threat to bus and rail service.

Pete Aadland, transportation and marketing spokesman for the North County Transit District, which provides bus service, said, “One of our goals is to eliminate the single-person auto. However that can be accomplished, we’re listening.”