Atlantic City Jitney Service Background

201 Pacific Ave. Atlantic City N.J.
Tel. 609-344-8642

Our Promise is to provide the safest and environmentally responsible fleet with the most reliable and highly trained professional drivers in order to provide the best Atlantic City transportation system to our passengers.

What We Do

The Atlantic City Jitney Association serves the needs of the local community as well as the millions of visitors to Atlantic City. We provide convenient, on time transportation to various points in Atlantic City.

We are the safest and most dependable transportation service in Atlantic City. Our drivers are experienced professionals with extensive training who maintain their vehicles in excellent condition at all times. Our professional drivers have a deep knowledge of providing superior service and are always courteous and eager to provide the service passengers expect.

Remember, you haven't experienced Atlantic City unless you visit our Casinos, strool the Boardwalk, and enjoy a ride on a Jitney.

If you are not familiar with us contact us at 609-344-8642. We will be pleased to hear from you about your experience! Please let us know what your needs and or questions are; we will be more than happy to help.



The Atlantic City Jitney Association serves the needs of the local community as well as the millions of visitors to Atlantic City. They provide convenient, on time transportation to various points in Atlantic City.

The Association also is actively involved within the community, with such programs as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Red Cross, and sponsoring various events as the Atlantic City Hall of Fame which honors Atlantic City's finest citizens.

Our History

The Atlantic City Jitney Association was started in 1915. It is the longest running non-subsidized transit company in America.The term jitney is an old English term which means nickel. Around the turn of the century, many Jitney services sprang up throughout the country.When the first Jitney Buses arrived on the streets of Atlantic City in 1947 they were large, black touring cars that used a rope and pulley system to open the back doors. The latest version is a modern luxury thirteen passenger mini-bus.

Our Staff

Currently there are 190 individually owned and operated units which run reliably 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. In addition the Association runs a Bus Shuttle from the Atlantic City Train Station to the various Casinos. The Drivers of the Atlantic City Jitney Association take great pride in providing safe and affordable transportation to everyone in Atlantic City.

Board Of Directors

President - Emmanuel "Manny" Mathioudakis
Vice President - John Lafranchi
Secretary - Bruce Hunt
Treasurer - Frank Becktel


JITNEY ROUTES

Jitney Buses run frequently 24 hours a day. The Jitney stops are located on the corner of every route and originate one block from the Boardwalk on Pacific Avenue. For your convenience, every sign located by each casino stop has color-coded numbers.

ROUTE 1 PINK

New Hampshire Avenue to Jackson Avenue, via Pacific Avenue.

ROUTE 2 BLUE

The Marina Area - Trump Marina and Harrah's via Delaware Avenue to Pacific Avenue.

ROUTE 3 GREEN

The Marina Area - Trump Marina and Harrah's via Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd. to the Inlet on Pacific Avenue.

ROUTE 4 ORANGE

From Jackson Avenue to Indiana Avenue, to Atlantic Avenue go to Michigan to the Bus Terminal, new Convention Center & Train Station. The Orange route only runs from 7 am to 7 pm.

ATLANTIC CITY RAIL SERVICE SHUTTLE

The Atlantic City Jitney Association and N.J. Transit joined together to provide a free shuttle service between the Atlantic City Rail Terminal and all the casino locations in Atlantic City.

When you arrive at the rail terminal, use the Kirkman Boulevard exit. In front of the convention center on Kirkman Boulevard there are four bus stops with signage for each of the casinos. The buses depart the train station shortly after each train arrives.

The buses also provide free service for your return trip to the train station. The buses pick up passengers at designated stops at each casino approximately 30 minutes before the departure time for each train. The designated stops are marked "Train Shuttle" and are located at or across the street from where you were dropped off when you arrived.

Estimated travel time between locations is approximately 8 to 15 minutes, depending on your final destinations

If the normal buses are not operating for some reason, we will substitute one of our Jitneys to provide the service but all other information such as free service, stops, and times remains the same.

Jitneys v Free Shuttles in Atlantic City

TRANSPORTATION; $2 Jitneys and Free Shuttle Square Off in Atlantic City


By DAVID K. RANDALL
Published: November 12, 2006

JOHN TARISTANO JR. looked out the jitney as it trolled Pacific Avenue on a recent Saturday while sunset glistened off the glass towers in the heart of the casino district. It was a view of a seaside strip built on dreams of striking it rich, but Mr. Taristano, a jitney driver for five years who was taking a ride this time, was checking the street corners for the people who make so many one-armed bandits hum.

''At this hour, these corners should have people everywhere, and there's not a person in sight,'' he said as the jitney passed a vacant stop. ''We should be seeing them packed in four deep.''

Mr. Taristano is one of 190 owner-operators who belong to the Atlantic City Jitney Association, an independent body that has provided the city's public transportation since 1915. But now, because of a free shuttle instituted by Harrah's Entertainment, they fear that they will lose their livelihood and that the city will lose a part of its identity as ingrained as saltwater taffy and Boardwalk romances.

The association runs 13-passenger sky-blue buses that charge passengers $2 each and resemble the shuttles serving airport rental-car lots. But in mid-October, Harrah's began running its free shuttle service, using 30-passenger buses, between the four casinos it owns along a two-mile stretch of Pacific Avenue. Harrah's operates a similar service in Las Vegas and decided to add it here after acquiring Bally's and Caesars. The Showboat is another of the company's Atlantic City casinos.

The last time a casino tried its own shuttle service here was eight years ago, when the Trump casinos briefly ran one between the two properties.

Jitney drivers fear that Harrah's will drive independent transportation providers out of business. The free shuttle serves four of the city's 12 casinos and can also drop off patrons near those Harrah's does not own.

The Jitney Association says member revenues along the route that runs between Harrah's properties are down as much as 35 percent since the free shuttle began.

''It's a small town,'' said Emmanuel Mathioudakis, the president of the association, which regulates members' routes and schedules. ''We depend on the casinos and their customers.''

If Harrah's continues to run the shuttle, Mr. Mathioudakis said, jitney service will have to be cut back, hurting those who rely on the jitneys to get to work in the casinos.

But Harrah's contends that those passengers are the ridership that the jitney drivers will continue to serve. John Payne, the regional president for Harrah's who oversees Atlantic City operations, said the company's position was that ''the jitneys do a great job of providing public transportation for Atlantic City,'' but that the Harrah's shuttle was not public transportation.

The use of jitneys harks back to the city's early days as a seaside resort dedicated to the Victorian-era idea that fresh air and sunshine promote well-being.

''The jitneys are an iconic part of Atlantic City,'' said Bryant Simon, a history professor at Temple University who wrote a book about the town, ''Boardwalk of Dreams: Atlantic City and the Fate of Urban America'' (Oxford University Press, 2004). ''I don't know of any other city that has an independent bus service like that.''

Harrah's approached the Jitney Association about running the free shuttle, Mr. Payne said, but negotiations broke down. Harrah's says the Jitney Association made a bid that was $1 million more than the $800,000 it will cost Harrah's to run its shuttle.

But Mr. Mathioudakis said the Jitney Association never formally submitted a bid.

Both sides say they are willing to work to find a way to meet the twin demands of customer service and tradition. Until then, drivers like Mr. Taristano will continue to hope that their way of life is not going to disappear like the Miss America Pageant.

''If this goes away, I don't know what I would do,'' said Mr. Taristano, whose father was a jitney driver. ''I'm hoping that Harrah's will work with us, and not crush us.''