Votran changes take effect today: new DeLand–Daytona express bus, Sunday cutback at Amelia Superstop

Buses-only entrance to the DeLand Intermodal Transportation Facility on South Woodlawn Boulevard (US 17/92) in DeLand, Florida. Dated location file photo from October 1, 2019. Photo: DanTD / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Resized; website wordmark added. Photo source · License

Votran's reworked schedules take effect today, Sunday, Oct. 4, and the biggest change for DeLand riders is a new limited-stop express to Daytona Beach. Route 61X runs weekdays between the Daytona Beach Transfer Plaza and the DeLand Intermodal Transit Facility via Interstate 4, stopping only once in between, at International Speedway Boulevard and Midway Avenue. The Volusia County Council approved the package of changes at its June 16 meeting.

Transit Services Director Bobbie King told Spectrum News 13 the express trips are "direct trips" that are "much quicker" and connect riders to a second bus faster than existing service. She said low ridership on large fixed-route buses helped drive the overall changes.

Route 61X departure times

Trip	Departure times
Weekdays from Daytona Beach Transfer Plaza	5:05 a.m., 6 a.m., 2:55 p.m.
Weekdays from DeLand ITF	9:05 a.m., 7:35 p.m.
Saturdays from Transfer Plaza (to Saxon Blvd./Enterprise Rd., not DeLand)	6:50 a.m.
Saturdays from Saxon Blvd./Enterprise Rd.	5:05 p.m.

Source: einpresswire.com

What DeLand riders lose

Route 60, the east-west connector, drops its 9 a.m. outbound and 10:05 a.m. inbound weekday trips. On Sundays it now runs hourly only between the Transfer Plaza and the Volusia County Branch Jail, with no Sunday service continuing west to the Amelia Superstop in DeLand — a stop that otherwise serves Routes 30 and 60 and doubles as a VoRide transfer point.

Routes 33 and 70 are discontinued countywide, with VoRide named as the alternate service. Route 33 had served the Market Place Transfer Center and the Deltona Library. Select weekday trips on Route 31 now connect directly to the Amelia Superstop, and those buses stay on Saxon Boulevard rather than pulling into Market Place Shopping Center.

Using VoRide instead

VoRide is Votran's on-demand van service, booked through an app or by phone at (386) 210-9861 for West Volusia. King said trips typically cost $2 for up to five miles and $1 for each additional mile, to a 10-mile maximum that costs $7, with half-price fares for seniors, riders with disabilities and students and free transfers to and from the bus. Votran lists the West Volusia zones — DeLand, Orange City/DeBary and Deltona — as operating Monday through Saturday, and the new Sunday zone created by these changes covers the Daytona Beach area from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

If you are unsure how your trip changes, county transit staff are scheduled to be aboard affected routes and at transit centers in the weeks around the switch to help riders.