Regional Connectivity: Guide to Transportation in Portsmouth, NH

Courtesy of C&J Bus Lines

What does it truly take to link a community to economic and cultural opportunity? In Greater Portsmouth, local transit providers and advocacy leaders are proving that it requires a blend of grand geographic vision and precise attention to detail.

C&J Bus Lines: Linking the New Hampshire Seacoast directly to NYC

CEO Jim Jalbert, who has led C&J Bus Lines for over 40 years after taking over from his late father, has built the company into northern New England’s second-largest intercity bus provider. Today, under his leadership, the company moves over half a million passengers annually.

When C&J Bus Lines launched direct service from Portsmouth to New York City in 2011, it didn’t just add another route – it opened a vital economic and cultural gateway. Jalbert saw the potential in linking the Seacoast directly to New York City, creating a vital corridor for business, family and culture.

His vision earned him METRO Magazine’s inaugural Innovative Motorcoach Operator of the Year award in 2014, the same year C&J received The Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth’s Business of the Year honor.

Jamie Casey, recently promoted to president after three decades with C&J, says the service was modeled after successful intercity routes, proving that a high-quality service at an attractive combination of time and price could compete with trains and flights.

C&J riders include a wide mix of travelers, Casey notes, from grandmothers visiting newborn grandchildren to business travelers. While New York City is five hours away from Portsmouth, many travelers lack the desire or ability to navigate the stress of city driving and parking; instead, the bus offers a productive alternative, allowing passengers to nap, read or use Wi-Fi while avoiding traffic.

Over the years, the route has evolved into a balanced flow of travelers moving not just south to New York City, but also north to the Seacoast. “This shift highlights Portsmouth’s growing reputation as a destination,” Casey says.

Unlike air or rail travel, C&J offers seamless connectivity. This means passengers enjoy a continuous journey without the hassle of layovers or mid-trip transfers.

“Passengers step on in one city and step off directly at their destination,” Casey says. “That convenience reduces barriers to travel and encourages more frequent trips in both directions.”

Access Navigators

Access Navigators: Breaking Down Mobility Barriers in Portsmouth

Anne Weidman and Access Navigators focus on barriers closer to home – the parking challenges, steep curbs and inaccessible venues that limit participation in community life for those with disabilities.

An honorary member of the American Institute of Architects, Weidman acts as the ‘boots-on-the- ground’ for Access Navigators – a nonprofit she co-founded in 2016 to eliminate mobility barriers across the Seacoast.

A three-person team – Weidman, co-founder Todd Hanson and technology director William Tucker – spent long careers together at Portsmouth architecture firm JSA Design before formalizing Access Navigators as an independent nonprofit.

A fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Hanson provides the technical foundation rooted in his lived experience as a wheelchair user. Alongside him, Weidman builds community connections, assesses accessibility challenges and collaborates on practical solutions.

The work isn’t theoretical. When Access Navigators began asking what prevented people with disabilities from fully participating in community life, “we got the same answer repeatedly: parking,” Weidman says.

That feedback led to a partnership with Portsmouth’s city manager and director of Public Works that has transformed access to signature events.

That direct feedback sparked a highly successful partnership with Portsmouth’s city manager and the Director of Public Works. Today, that collaboration transforms major events:

• Signature Community Events: For gatherings like Market Square Day, the Portsmouth Halloween Parade, and New Year’s Eve fireworks, the Public Works Department installs up to 50 temporary accessible parking spaces.
• Prescott Park Arts Festival: During this popular three-month summer festival, the city designates an entire 16-space lot exclusively for accessible parking every single evening.

“This accessible parking for the festival has led to improvements throughout Prescott Park,” Weidman says. “The number of visitors with disabilities to the park has increased exponentially.”

The organization’s regional reach extends far beyond downtown. Access Navigators maintains custom online maps for approximately 20 towns across New Hampshire, Southern Maine, and Massachusetts. These digital guides detail:

• Physical entrance accessibility
• Interior layout, usability and restroom availability
• Nearby dedicated parking for popular restaurants and attractions

“A visitor or a local could use our guides to ensure that meals and activities were all at venues that accommodated his or her particular needs,” Weidman says.

Now, with Phillips Exeter Academy students developing a beta app to house their accessibility data, the organization is positioned to expand its geographic reach while maintaining its core mission: “Keep people impacted by disabilities connected to their communities.”

New Hampshire Division of Travel & Tourism

COAST Bus: Connecting Key Seacoast Destinations

Serving Greater Portsmouth since 1982, the Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation (COAST) is a nonprofit that has delivered over 17 million rides during its more than four decades of service.

Today, COAST operates reliable fixed-route bus services connecting 10 separate regional communities. Within Portsmouth specifically, the bus line offers direct, affordable service to key everyday destinations, including:

• Portsmouth City Hall & Public Library
• The Senior Activity Center
• Portsmouth Regional Hospital
• Portsmouth International Airport at Pease
• Great Bay Community College

In addition to fixed routes, COAST also provides demand-response rides for seniors and people with disabilities in 13 cities throughout New Hampshire and Maine.

COAST has announced that construction will begin in 2027 on a new operations facility at its Dover headquarters, located on the same property as its current building. The new 48,000-square-foot facility will cost $19.5 million, supported by $15.5 million in capital grants from the Federal Transit Administration.

Executive Director Rad Nichols says the new facility will be large enough to house all personnel under the same roof, and the buses will be stored indoors in a separate building that will shield them from the weather.

This significant expansion ensures that reliable, affordable transit remains a Seacoast staple.

As an organization, “COAST is as solid as it has ever been,” Nichols says. “Ridership continues to grow, and in 2025, a spring passenger survey gave us high marks for service, reliability and affordability. We are truly a sound economic choice for transportation.”