'Independence' at $2 a ride: VoRide users react to county's Uber-like rideshare

Robert "Bobby" D’Andrea is used to riding his bicycle to and from his job at Winn-Dixie.

But the DeLand resident, who is on the autism spectrum, faces a problem when the weather’s bad. He lives with his sister Marina Peters, and she doesn’t want him to risk riding in the rain. So usually she gives him a ride, but she changed jobs recently and won't be able to provide as much help.

Affordable help is available for D'Andrea and his sister thanks to a transportation system that launched a few months ago: VoRide.

VoRide is an on-demand ride-sharing service from the Volusia County government that operates similarly to Uber or Lyft but costs less.

Riders pay $2 each way unless they qualify for a discount. They order the rides whenever needed and meet the driver at a location nearby for pickup in a van with the VoRide logo.

The service benefits people with different backgrounds and abilities, some of whom have little to no other transportation alternatives.

D’Andrea said he has used VoRide once and plans to use it more frequently now with his sister’s job change.

"It's cheap. … It's better than Uber," D'Andrea said.

Peters said having the service means D'Andrea won't have to pay for an Uber or Lyft.

"I want to do anything that we can, do our little part, to make sure people know what a service it is," she said.

Rideshare service VoRide expands to DeBary, Orange City

VoRide launched on Dec. 5 in DeLand and areas nearby and recently expanded to include DeBary, Deltona and Orange City.

The county expected to save about $900,000 a year by using VoRide in West Volusia, getting rid of some regular bus routes that have lower demand and shifting some Votran paratransit users to VoRide, Volusia County's Transit Services Director Bobbie King said in October.

King said VoRide also provides transportation options in areas not served by the regular Votran bus system.

Using the service is like other ridesharing apps. Using the VoRide app, people order a ride and walk to the pickup spot. People who don't want to use the app can call to order a ride at 386-210-9861.

The system operates from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays. More details are at votran.org.

The concept isn't new for local governments. Other areas have mobility-on-demand services, including Sarasota County's Breeze OnDemand.

VoRide users' suggestions: Improve wait times, mobile app

From Dec. 5 through March 30, VoRide drivers provided 13,568 trips with an average trip rating of 4.8 out of 5, according to the Volusia County government. In the same time frame, 3,119 user accounts were created.

Some riders who spoke with The News-Journal offered critiques and suggestions on how to improve the service.

Some said they would like the mobile app to show the live location of riders instead of just the pickup point, which would help drivers locate people if they're not at the assigned spot.

The News-Journal posted a request on social media to interview VoRide users. After seeing that post, DeLand resident Cindy Ridings decided to test the service and share her findings, she said.

She took a ride to the Deland Fish House at 310 E. International Speedway Blvd for lunch in March. The driver arrived within eight minutes of the request, which was a little after 11 a.m. that day, she said.

The van was clean, and the driver shared details about VoRide because it was Ridings' first trip, she said. The driver also told her to expect a longer wait time in the afternoon.

The driver dropped her off near the restaurant, but she still had to walk across ISB in a crosswalk to get there, she said.

"I wasn't expecting that," Ridings said.

Ridings said she requested another ride after finishing her lunch. She said she had to cross ISB again via a crosswalk to get to the meetup point, and no benches were there. She waited for about 40 minutes for a ride.

Ridings said she considered using VoRide for medical appointments but decided against that because the driver advised her to book her doctor's appointments an hour in advance because other people might need to be picked up along the way.

"I will not be using them for doctor's appointments," she said.

She said other than the issues she described "it was a great experience."

Ridings wasn't the only one who experienced issues.

Ron Rockwood, 73, said he waited for about 30 minutes for a ride home after getting a haircut on Thursday. The News-Journal rode along with a VoRide driver and spoke with Rockwood and others.

Rockwood resides at a senior living center in DeLand. He has issues with memory and balance and doesn't drive anymore, he said. While the facility offers rides to areas around town, Rockwood said he uses VoRide to get to places that aren't on the facility's itinerary.

He had been paying $2 for each ride on VoRide, but the driver informed Rockwood of the senior discount and extra help available for people with physical limitations.

"Every penny I can save is a penny that I can save," Rockwood said.

King said in October that the county's goal was to get VoRide to people within 30-45 minutes of their request.

VoRide serves all, regardless of income or the reason for the trip

VoRide is available to the general public like a regular bus or Uber. People don't have to meet any eligibility requirements, and they can go anywhere they wish in the service area. People can also use VoRide to connect to regular Votran bus routes that can take them across the county.

Drivers are trained to help people with special needs such as people who use a wheelchair.

Libby Stevens, of DeLand, uses the service about five to 10 times a week, she said.

"I am visually impaired. … I can't see enough to drive," she said.

As an independent person, she prefers to use VoRide instead of asking someone to give her a ride, she said. She uses the service to go to the grocery store and run other errands.

"Generally, I've really enjoyed this," she said of VoRide.

VoRide gives artist an independence she 'didn't quite have'

Artist Annika Keller said VoRide has made life easier for her.

She lives north of downtown DeLand and doesn't have a car. Before VoRide launched, she had to ride her bicycle or get a ride from someone to go places ― like going downtown to volunteer at a gallery or to the post office to ship art that she sold.

"It gave me a sort of independence ... that I didn't quite have," she said.

Having the service means she has reliable transportation that she can afford, so now she can better plan her days. She estimated she used VoRide about 20 times in a month.

"(It's) one of the best things in my opinion that Volusia County has done that has really impacted the daily lives of people," Keller said.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Like Uber but $2 a ride: Volusia rideshare offers 'independence'