While visiting Sea Isle City recently, the owner of Johnny’s Cafe was notably impressed by the shore town’s use of Jitney shuttles.
The Margate businessman watched as natural-gas powered Jitneys traversed the main street every 15 minutes or so. Cheap rides for shoppers, visitors and partiers along Landis Ave, the main street of Sea Isle.
$2.50 a ride. The Sea Isle Jitney shuttle always had passengers. So why not Downbeach?
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With parking virtually impossible during the summer, Jersey shore towns like Sea Isle City, Stone Harbor, Avalon and Ocean City have embraced natural-gas powered jitneys to shuttle visitors back and forth along their main drags.
Keep drunks off the road, reduce traffic, fewer parking problems, environmentally friendly too.
Today, instead of a shuttle from Longport to the Atlantic City Inlet, a new plan is being privately discussed by a small group of Downbeach business owners.
How wonderful would it be to leave the car at home. Enjoy local dining or shopping on our main streets. Clean, easy, affordable, eco-friendly.
So what’s keeping Margate and Ventnor from adopting a much-needed Downbeach Shuttle service? One likely answer: A few years back, some feared the shuttle would bring so-called ‘undesirables’ to town.
Under consideration: A shorter loop from Jackson Ave in Ventnor to the border of Margate and Longport. This Downbeach Loop would also include service along Dorset and Amherst Ave. For efficiency and scheduling, UBER or similar app could be used to prepay, tip and schedule pick-ups along this proposed Downbeach Jitney Shuttle ‘loop’.
The idea failed before. Why try again? The last Jitney shuttle effort was poorly executed, almost sabotaged from the start. No visible signage, weak public awareness. Half-hearted input from Ventnor and Margate City Halls.
It is an excellent idea to provide a Jitney from Jackson Avenue to Washington in Margate or beyond to Monroe.
Would prefer if it went into Atlantic city
How about a “Transfer fee” to get on AC Route with another Jitney? Say that the Jitney association puts money into a pool, as not to lose seats in the AC Corridor Jitneys, and they can create more accessible and acceptable solution for the entire island?
This may also create larger volume of passengers the AC Route busses might not experience if not for the “Transfer” cost and added ridership to travelers who would pay full price in AC, and be able to continue on Downbeach.
Food for thought?
Great idea…After a few drinks it’s a good move. Yep, less traffic, no parking issues and a lot safer
Great idea. Keep everyone safe.
I’m willing to pay $ 2.50 to ride it. That’s less than UBER or LYFT or TAXI.
Hours of operation will be a key issue along with : stop locations, & what street (Atlantic Ave or Ventnor Avenue )
So let’s start in Ventnor to keep the undesirables out. I resent that. I’ve been going to places in Margate for over 20 years and now that I live in AC, I’m undesirable. I don’t think so. Guess I’ll just stay in AC. Lots of great places in AC where us undesirables spend our money. Maybe you’re afraid the “desirables” will come to AC.
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Great Idea!!!
I wonder where the set stops will be. Margate is such an easy town to walk in its entirety if you are able bodied, so if the pick up/ drop off stops aren’t designated frequently, then it might not be advantageous since you might only have a few more blocks to walk to get to your destination. That being said, residents might not want a shuttle making many stops because of traffic issues! Sorry—- I’m not helping! I’m conflicted!
We moved to Ventnor to suit our retirement needs. I wanted NYC because we love to walk, we love dinning out, we love Theater, we love the arts.
My husband convinced me we could meet those needs in AC.
The selling point was the jitney. We live 3 blocks outside of AC, thinking we will always be able to walk 3 blocks and then jump a jitney and go anywhere in AC. Sounded great.
Only 3 blocks away from hundreds of restaurants/ But, then try riding a jitney. Unless they give you a tranquilizer an hour before jumping on, it’s literally impossible .
They go 80 miles an hour in the 25 mph zones. I ask them to slow down but that only makes them step harder.
I called the office over hundred times but nothing changes. I am ready to leave the area considering the main thing I thought was the selling point looks like if I stay may be the death of me.
One time leaving Ocean Casino, they took off before my husband got seated. He went flying on top of me.
We have not been to Borgata since we moved here. I can’t stay on jitney that long so we have to get off. I have 3 books of senior tickets we will never use
They are ruining any hopes for AC.