Jitneys have been serving parts of Ocean City since 2022.
Ocean City is bringing back the jitneys again this summer for inexpensive rides to the Boardwalk.
Passengers will be able to ride the lime green-and-white shuttle buses at the same $3 one-way fare as last year. Children 5 years old and under will ride for free.
The jitneys offer a convenient and cheap option for visitors to make trips to the Boardwalk without having to worry about finding a parking spot. They are also popular with employees heading to their summer jobs on the Boardwalk.
At its Feb. 26 meeting, City Council approved an extension of the Atlantic City Jitney Association’s contract for the shuttle service this summer for $121,700. 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 contract from 2022-2025 and their performance over the years has been beyond satisfactory. We are confident that the ACJA can continue to provide a high level of consistency and customer service to our residents and visitors alike in 2026 and beyond,” Dan Kelchner, the city’s director of Community Services, wrote in a memo attached to the Council agenda.
Service will start on Friday, May 22, and continue through the Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer tourism season. Then service will pause after Memorial Day weekend before returning on Friday, June 19, to operate seven days a week through Labor Day.
The Boardwalk route runs from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily during the summer season.
The 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.
“The summer Boardwalk service has worked well and will remain the same,” Mayor Jay Gillian said in a statement.
Jitney service for 2026 will continue to offer inexpensive rides up to the Boardwalk.Jitney ridership declined to 10,152 passengers in 2025 from 13,155 in 2024. Kelchner largely blamed the ridership decline on bouts of rainy weather through the first few weeks of summer in 2025.
“People are less willing to wait at the jitney stops when you get crummy weather,” he said in an interview.
Overall, the jitney service is well-received by the public and results in a lot of positive feedback to the city, Kelchner noted.
Jitneys also run a “Senior Center Route” that operates year-round. There will be changes with the senior route this year to improve access for riders.
The jitneys will now offer door-to-door service at senior citizens’ homes throughout town to take them to a drop-off and pick-up location at the Ocean City Community Center, which houses the city’s Senior Center.
Previously, the jitneys would stop at the city’s senior-citizen housing locations or assisted-living facilities. They included Wesley by the Bay, Speitel Commons, Bayview Manor, UMC at the Shores and 500 Bay.
In another change, the city is adding an extra day to the Senior Center route to make it three days a week – Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Anyone 60 years and older can use the free service to the Senior Center by calling (609) 399-0055 to make a reservation.
