Jitneys have been serving parts of Ocean City since 2022.
Those eye-catching lime green and white jitneys that ply the streets of Ocean City during the summer tourism season will be back again this year.
At only $3 per ride, the jitneys offer cheap and convenient public transportation for passengers heading to the Boardwalk or along a route serving the city’s senior centers.
City Council on Thursday approved an extension of the Atlantic City Jitney Association’s contract for the shuttle service this summer for $92,225. The Atlantic City Jitney Association has been the contractor ever since Ocean City launched the service in 2022.
“The ACJA has been the City’s provider for this service over the past three years and their performance has been beyond satisfactory,” Dan Kelchner, director of Ocean City Community Services, wrote in a memo attached to the Council agenda.
Kelchner added that the jitneys have been reliable, consistent and greeted with “overwhelmingly positive” reviews by riders.
“Overall, the program has been a success. It has provided a useful transportation alternative for thousands of residents and visitors over the first three years of operation,” he said.
Total ridership was 13,155 in 2024, down somewhat from the 14,735 passengers in 2023, Kelchner said.
The $3 fare, routes and service parameters will remain the same this summer as in 2024, he said. Children 5 years old and under ride for free.
Jitney service for 2025 will continue to offer inexpensive rides up to the Boardwalk.Jitney service will begin on Friday, May 23, during the Memorial Day weekend. The program will run Friday through Monday of Memorial Day weekend before a brief pause in early June. The program then becomes seven days per week beginning on Friday, June 20, before wrapping up for the summer on Labor Day, Sept. 1.
The Boardwalk route starts at 55th Street and West Avenue in the island’s south end and runs a continuous loop to Battersea Road and back using 14th Street as a crossover. There is easy jitney access to the Boardwalk from Ninth Street, Ocean Avenue and Atlantic Avenue.
Hours of operation for the Boardwalk route will be 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
Jitneys also run along a “Senior Centers Route” that services the city’s senior-citizen housing locations or assisted-living facilities. They include Wesley by the Bay, Speitel Commons, Bayview Manor, UMC at the Shores and 500 Bay.
The Senior Centers Route will operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. using one jitney per day. Originally, two jitneys per day were used for the route, but the city cut it to one in 2024 because of lower ridership.
Kelchner said the contract gives the city the flexibility to revise routes, change the number of jitneys or alter service times as needed.
Since its inception, the jitney service has been touted by the city as low cost and convenient public transportation that relieves passengers of the hassle of trying to find public parking during the busy summer tourism season.
The impetus for jitney service was a 2019 economic development study that recommended more public transportation in Ocean City.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated from the original version to add details about the start of jitney service and the hours of operation in 2025.
This map shows the continuous jitney loop between 55th Street and Battersea Road.
