DELAND, Fla. — When the DeLand SunRail station opens this summer, passengers might be surprised to know that they won’t be dropped off close to downtown.

What You Need To Know

  • DeLand's new SunRail station will be more than three miles from downtown

  • Local leaders are hoping SunRail passengers will use VoRide to get from the station to the city center

  • VoRide is a low-cost rideshare service that uses minivans to transport people requesting rides

  • Officials with the city of DeLand and the MainStreet DeLand Association say they are waiting to see ridership numbers before considering a trolley or bus service

“I’m a little anxious for how we’re going to get people four miles from the SunRail stop into our downtown,” said Wendy Caroen LaRocca, owner of The Anointed Olive in DeLand.

The SunRail stop at the current Amtrak station in DeLand has been planned for years, but the city and the MainStreet DeLand Association still haven’t figured out an affordable way to get people from the station to downtown.

“I would have thought this would have been part of the original SunRail plan, but I don’t know," Caroen LaRocca said. "Apparently it wasn’t thought through."

A Volusia County spokesman said the county won’t be running buses on a fixed route between downtown and the station.

“Will they be surprised when they get there and see there’s nothing around it? They will initially,” said Volusia County Chairman Jeff Brower, who is also the chairman of the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission.

Brower said that while large-scale transportation won’t be offered right away, the officials are betting on the county’s rideshare program to get people from the station to downtown.

“I think with VoRide, at least initially, it solves that challenge,” said Bower. “And it actually makes it very convenient.”

VoRide is the county’s low-cost curb-to-curb rideshare initiative that only charges $2 a person per trip.

Just like Uber, people can request a ride through the VoRide app.

The Florida Department of Transportation is also betting the point-to-point minivan transportation service will suffice for the new SunRail station.

“Currently in use at the DeBary SunRail Station, riders can connect to points of interest in VoRide’s designated zone within DeLand, Orange City, Deltona and DeBary,” said FDOT District 5 public information director Cynthia Lane. “For trips outside the VoRide’s zone, riders will be connected to a Votran bus route to continue their trip.”

Caroen LaRocca said a trolley or bus would be a better option to carry more people than a four- or five-seat SUV or van.

“I think they’re going to have to have a better plan long term for bringing people into town,” she said.

For the city of DeLand and the MainStreet DeLand Association, it’s a waiting game to see what the SunRail ridership numbers are like before they seek the funding for something like a trolley.

Brower said cyclists will be in good shape when they get to the DeLand SunRail station, as Volusia County hopes to highlight a bike station and bike trails for passengers to explore.