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Votran Update


Big CJ

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A little update for Votran in Volusia County, Florida. Votran did in fact have 40 foot Flyer D901A-10240s. Numbered 301-305, these were 1981 air conditioned models. I don't know what powertrain they had, but I assume they had 6V92TAs and Allison V730 transmission.

I don't know when the 6V92TA was introduced, but it does seem it was available back then. They were retired in 1997 by the Nova RTS buses that came in. They were actually retired in 1994, but reactivated several times, because of service increases. These articles from the Orlando Sentinel talks about them to some degree.

http://articles.orla...buses-new-buses

http://articles.orla...mmittee-florida

http://articles.orla...buses-new-buses

All of the Flxibles built in 1983 had 6V92TAs and Allison V730 transmission. The 1990 Flxibles is the same story except they had Allison V731 transmissions. The 1994s had Detroit Diesel Series 50 engines and Allison V731s.

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When were the RTS's retired? I've heard all they have now is Gillig Phantoms and Low Floors.

I don't know when exactly, but it was not too long ago. There is a picture of one being used by a private company. The bus was 35 feet long and they resembled the RTS buses currently being used by the TTC.

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  • 9 months later...

I did some more reading over old newspaper articles and I discovered that 10 of the 25 Flxible Metros built in 1983 had wheelchair lifts. This is revealed in the second newspaper article. All five Flyer D901s also had wheelchair lifts too. The 1997 RTS replaced the non-wheelchair lift Flxible Metros too. The first newspaper article details the funding that was recieved to purchase the Flyer D901 buses and bus shelters.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19800110&id=mFQgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=E9IEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4510,4271249

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1873&dat=19830525&id=b4gfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=x9IEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6073,4427984

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  • 4 years later...

Hi!  While I was residing in Florida, I had fanned on Votran on 2 occasions, in June 2006 and January 2009.  During my 2006 trip, I had the pleasure to picture 2 different 1994 Flixible Metro "D" 35ft. buses.  Bus 902 in fleet livery was pictured at the Daytona Beach Transfer Plaza (all Daytona Beach pictures were taken there except when noted), while wrapped bus 905 was pictured in New Smyrna Beach on a Southeast County (Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange) local.

VT-902-1.JPGVT-902-2.JPGVT-902-3.JPGVT-902-4.JPGVT-r40-905-1.JPG

During my New Smyrna beach visit, I had also pictured Blue Bird CSFE buses 8641 and 8642 (similar to a once sizable fleet in Miami Dade Transit).  They were the New Smyrna Beach local buses at that time.

VT-r42-8642-1.JPGVT-r43-8641-1.JPG

Votran operated 14 Novabus RTS 35ft. new in 1997 at one time as well, as depicted buses 1101 and 1105 pictured in Daytona Beach in 2006 and 2009 respectively.

VT-r10-1101-1.JPGVT-r10-1101-3.JPGVT-r17B-1105.JPG

The agency then turned to Gillig's, the Florida staple brand of bus and never looked back.  First came the 1999 Gillig Phantom pilot bus 1201, as depicted in the pictured taken at the Intermodal Transit Facility (ITF) in Daytona Beach.  It was followed by 15 more 2000 sister buses like 1213 and 1214 taken at Daytona Beach and Port Orange respectively.  The latter bus also pioneered the use of LED destination signs at the agency.  Finally, Votran took delivered of 3 more similar buses in 2003 like bus 1301 taken at Daytona Beach.  These were the agency's final high-floor buses.  All the Phantoms illustrated here were pictured in 2009.

VT-r01A-1201-2.JPGVT-r60-1213.JPGVT-r40-1214-3.JPGVT-r60-1301-1.JPG

In the same year, Votran also purchased its first low floor buses in form of 8 Gillig Low Floor 29ft. like buses 1404 and 1405 pictured in Orange City in 2009.  When new, they were dedicated to the West Volusia County (DeLand, Deltona and Orange City) sub-network, but had since been moved east as they were substituted with 35ft. sister buses.

VT-r22-1404-3.JPGVT-r20-1405-2.JPG

Six 35ft. sister buses arrived in 2006, followed by nine more in 2008; as depicted by buses 1605, 1707 and 1709; all pictured in Daytona Beach.  They are broadly similar buses, except that the 1700's are EPA-2007 buses.  Bus 1709 is also its newest 35ft. buses I've pictured before I left Florida.

VT-r03B-1605-2.JPGVT-r17A-1709-4.JPGVT-r17B-1707-3.JPG

Two more baby Gillig Low Floor's arrived in 2008, as illustrated by bus 1802.  The pair were originally assigned to New Smyrna Beach locals, but were reassigned to the rest of the system after the local system was converted to flexible route operation.  (A new heavy-duty route did eventually re-appear).

VT-r43-1802-2.JPGVT-r42-1802-4.JPG

Finally, Votran had also operated a beach trolley service using trolley replicas like 705 and 706 pictured at the Daytona Beach ITF.  The service has since been eliminated at an unknown date.

VT-Trolley-705-3.JPGVT-Trolley-706-3.JPG

Here is my Votran gallery:

Votran (Volusia County Florida)

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  • 5 months later...

Just a short update from Votran:

  • 1200s:
    As of mid-June, the six remaining 1200s (1206-1208, 1214-1216) were officially retired.
    So far only 1216 has had it's equipment and logos removed, the other five are sitting in the back of the lot awaiting their fate.
  • As of early-June, 1402 and 1408 were retired.
  • As of today (7/1/19), 1403, 1405, and 1407 were also stripped and retired. 
    This leaves 1401, 1404, and 1406 - only 1406 is used daily (on Route 5), the other's haven't seen revenue service in a few weeks
  • The three 1300 Phantoms are still (surprisingly) in revenue service. 
  • The 11, 2600s entered service in mid-June, the same day as the official retirement of the remaining 1200s. The 2600s are 2019 Gillig 35' LF Diesel models, identical to the 2500s. 

 

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  • 6 months later...

Early 2020 Update

  • 1200s and the retired 1400s are long gone and were auctioned off.
  • The three 1300s are still technically in revenue service, but have not been in revenue service in months. They're primarily used for operator training, almost daily.
  • 1401, 1404, 1406 are still in service, with the latter two seeing service occasionally on the SunRail Feeder routes (Routes 31, 32, 33) when one of the 2008 29' are not out.
  • Route 11 will have a routing/service change this spring. The route will become Route 11A & 11B. Route 11A will continue operating in the current configuration, while Route 11B will no longer serve the Flea Market branch (western portion of the route) and instead service the Tanger Outlets. The main portion of the route will maintain 30 minute service and each branch will operate hourly. The headsigns are already programmed for the buses and will be downloaded over the next few months before service begins.
  • New Night Service Route: Route 11N will follow Route 11B (though the eastern terminus will be at the ITF instead of the Transfer Plaza, as Night Service operates from that location). Route 11N will be the only Night Service route that does not have a Sunday counterpart.
  • Route 10S (Sunday) will have a routing change to serve Tanger Outlets, minor schedule changes are expected.
  • Other changes are possible, as we are currently reviewing service. 
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  • 2 weeks later...

Big news that just came out last week.

The Volusia County Council decided to begin contract negotiations with First Transit for transit management. 
RATPdev (formerly McDonald Transit) held the Votran contract for the last 44 years (since Votran was created, to be exact). But later this year, First Transit will take over. All current employees except the General Manager will be rehired by First Transit.

http://www.votran.org/news-info/news-detail.stml?portalProcess_dd_0_1_1=showPublicEvent&calendar_entry_id=26232 

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  • 2 months later...
On 1/22/2019 at 9:12 PM, Buzz2kb said:

Hi!  While I was residing in Florida, I had fanned on Votran on 2 occasions, in June 2006 and January 2009.  During my 2006 trip, I had the pleasure to picture 2 different 1994 Flixible Metro "D" 35ft. buses.  Bus 902 in fleet livery was pictured at the Daytona Beach Transfer Plaza (all Daytona Beach pictures were taken there except when noted), while wrapped bus 905 was pictured in New Smyrna Beach on a Southeast County (Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange) local.

VT-902-1.JPGVT-902-2.JPGVT-902-3.JPGVT-902-4.JPGVT-r40-905-1.JPG

During my New Smyrna beach visit, I had also pictured Blue Bird CSFE buses 8641 and 8642 (similar to a once sizable fleet in Miami Dade Transit).  They were the New Smyrna Beach local buses at that time.

VT-r42-8642-1.JPGVT-r43-8641-1.JPG

Votran operated 14 Novabus RTS 35ft. new in 1997 at one time as well, as depicted buses 1101 and 1105 pictured in Daytona Beach in 2006 and 2009 respectively.

VT-r10-1101-1.JPGVT-r10-1101-3.JPGVT-r17B-1105.JPG

The agency then turned to Gillig's, the Florida staple brand of bus and never looked back.  First came the 1999 Gillig Phantom pilot bus 1201, as depicted in the pictured taken at the Intermodal Transit Facility (ITF) in Daytona Beach.  It was followed by 15 more 2000 sister buses like 1213 and 1214 taken at Daytona Beach and Port Orange respectively.  The latter bus also pioneered the use of LED destination signs at the agency.  Finally, Votran took delivered of 3 more similar buses in 2003 like bus 1301 taken at Daytona Beach.  These were the agency's final high-floor buses.  All the Phantoms illustrated here were pictured in 2009.

VT-r01A-1201-2.JPGVT-r60-1213.JPGVT-r40-1214-3.JPGVT-r60-1301-1.JPG

In the same year, Votran also purchased its first low floor buses in form of 8 Gillig Low Floor 29ft. like buses 1404 and 1405 pictured in Orange City in 2009.  When new, they were dedicated to the West Volusia County (DeLand, Deltona and Orange City) sub-network, but had since been moved east as they were substituted with 35ft. sister buses.

VT-r22-1404-3.JPGVT-r20-1405-2.JPG

Six 35ft. sister buses arrived in 2006, followed by nine more in 2008; as depicted by buses 1605, 1707 and 1709; all pictured in Daytona Beach.  They are broadly similar buses, except that the 1700's are EPA-2007 buses.  Bus 1709 is also its newest 35ft. buses I've pictured before I left Florida.

VT-r03B-1605-2.JPGVT-r17A-1709-4.JPGVT-r17B-1707-3.JPG

Two more baby Gillig Low Floor's arrived in 2008, as illustrated by bus 1802.  The pair were originally assigned to New Smyrna Beach locals, but were reassigned to the rest of the system after the local system was converted to flexible route operation.  (A new heavy-duty route did eventually re-appear).

VT-r43-1802-2.JPGVT-r42-1802-4.JPG

Finally, Votran had also operated a beach trolley service using trolley replicas like 705 and 706 pictured at the Daytona Beach ITF.  The service has since been eliminated at an unknown date.

VT-Trolley-705-3.JPGVT-Trolley-706-3.JPG

Here is my Votran gallery:

Votran (Volusia County Florida)

Can I Have Permission To Post Some Of These To A Facebook Group W/ Your credit?

 

Also, OMG!!!! Its 1709 When It Was Brand New. That Bus Runs Daily On The 18 Now, With 2308.

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

The change I mentioned a few months ago regarding Route 11 changing to be 11A/B format with the addition of service to the Tanger Outlet Mall area, as well as the addition of Route 11N (Night), and routing/schedule changes of Route 10S (Sunday), has been delayed. The change did not take place in April as originally planned due to COVID-19. Instead, the changes for Route 11 to become 11A/B and for the 10S are now planned for the summer. Route 11N is delayed indefinitely because the mall's temporary hours are until 7pm, which is when Night Service starts. Once things begin to return to a more normal world again, we will look into starting up Route 11N. 

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  • 1 month later...

This week the Route 11 and 10S schedule changes happened. On 6/29, the 11 became 11A (operating as the existing Route 11, hourly) and 11B (now serving Tanger Outlets, hourly). On 6/28, the 10S had the routing and schedule modifications to serve Tanger Outlets. As I mentioned previously, the 11N is not operating in it's full form until retail hours go back to normal. Last minute, we (and the county) decided to run one round trip on the 11N. That trip leaves the ITF at 7:00pm and runs outbound to Tanger. Then returns Inbound at about 8pm. The other trips will not operate until the regular mall hours resume. 

 

In other news, we've received an order of 7 2020 Gillig 35' Low Floor Diesel buses. These are pretty much identical to the 2600s other than a few minor changes. I am still working on confirming what was retired and replaced by these new buses. I will update the Wiki later this week once I've confirmed the information 100%. 

Fares had been suspended since the beginning of April but were reinstated on 6/1.

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ROUTE 11A -- I recently rode the 11A I.B. with my friend driving, the readouts for 2300- are:

11A MASON AVE / 11A VOLUSIA MALL

11A MASON AVE // TRANSFER PLAZA

 

 

The annunciator is quite different, but the speaker was sorta low so I could only hear parts.

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  • 5 months later...

It's been a while since I've been on here to give an update - school, work, and life all took priority. 

Since my last update on 7/1/20, we've accomplished the following:

  • The seven 2700s (2020 Gillig 35' LF Diesels) have all gone into service
  • RETIREMENTS:
    • The remaining 1400s (2003 Gillig 29' LF Diesels)
    • ALL 1700s (2008 Gillig 35' LF Diesels) -- From what I was told, these buses were suffering lots of mechanical problems and the maintenance department was pouring money into them. So they were retired now, while keeping the 1300s (2003 Gillig 35' Phantoms) and 1600s (2006 Gillig 35' LF Diesels) instead of the 1700s.
  • Bus 2611 was the test bus for a plexiglass operator shield. This would be more for protection from COVID rather than assaults. It is the only bus to have this shield.
  • Buses 2701 and 2702 are the test buses for a operator safety door. These would be both for COVID as well as assaults. So far they are the only buses in the fleet to have these and they are being rotated through the system so operators can get a feel for them. No word yet on when/if more buses will get these or other shield models for testing/roll out.
  • The transition from RATPDev to First Transit was completed back in August, a smooth transition.
  • No route changes were done in the September signup, so we are continuing to operate the same service as back in June. The Route 11N still is not operating the full night schedule, just a single trip.

In other news, I noticed on the Wiki last week that the 1500s (2004 BlueBird All American REs) have been moved to the RETIRED section. That is not the case. These buses are still active. While not as active as in a normal year, they are still used both for training and their HeadStart programs. As soon as I'm finished making this post, I'm going to go fix that. 

 

I can't think of much else in terms of updating here about. Everything has been pretty much status quo for the last few months.

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5 hours ago, CentralFLTransitFan said:

In other news, I noticed on the Wiki last week that the 1500s (2004 BlueBird All American REs) have been moved to the RETIRED section. That is not the case. These buses are still active. While not as active as in a normal year, they are still used both for training and their HeadStart programs. A

For what it’s worth, Votran has not listed those as active vehicles

http://www.votran.org/core/fileparse.php/6120/urlt/Votran-TAM-PLAN-2020-Update_2.pdf

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On 12/7/2020 at 5:06 PM, Orion6025 said:

For what it’s worth, Votran has not listed those as active vehicles

http://www.votran.org/core/fileparse.php/6120/urlt/Votran-TAM-PLAN-2020-Update_2.pdf

Well... They are not Revenue vehicles. Therefore, That could be the reasoning for the updated version (Also correct version) not displaying them.

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43 minutes ago, FLtransitPhotos said:

Well... They are not Revenue vehicles. Therefore, That could be the reasoning for the updated version (Also correct version) not displaying them.

They do have a non-revenue vehicle section on the doc fwiw, pages 26/27. At the end of the day, this isn’t something i’m invested in enough to throw a hissy fit over or anything, I’m just pointing out the source for my doubts.

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On 12/8/2020 at 10:38 PM, Orion6025 said:

They do have a non-revenue vehicle section on the doc fwiw, pages 26/27. At the end of the day, this isn’t something i’m invested in enough to throw a hissy fit over or anything, I’m just pointing out the source for my doubts.

Was it stated on that section? Furthest I read was Revenue vehicles. They could have forgot to list the 1500s. Completely understandable. Me neither. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

Updated my Votran roster PDF to add 2701 and 2702 shield status.

Any errors seen, Please PM me. 

If all is well this roster won't be updated until 2021.

VOTRAN-UPDATED-ROSTER.pdf

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On 12/7/2020 at 5:06 PM, Orion6025 said:

For what it’s worth, Votran has not listed those as active vehicles

http://www.votran.org/core/fileparse.php/6120/urlt/Votran-TAM-PLAN-2020-Update_2.pdf

I work for Votran and I updated that document myself. Those vehicles were purchased through Mid Florida Community Services (HeadStart) and from what I've been told, (because I specifically asked about adding these vehicles into the TAM plan) there was a lot of headaches over purchasing them in the first place, with the FTA needing special paperwork. So the final consensus from higher-ups was that they would not be included in this document. However, they are indeed active service vehicles.

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  • 1 month later...
On 12/15/2020 at 2:14 PM, CentralFLTransitFan said:

I work for Votran and I updated that document myself. Those vehicles were purchased through Mid Florida Community Services (HeadStart) and from what I've been told, (because I specifically asked about adding these vehicles into the TAM plan) there was a lot of headaches over purchasing them in the first place, with the FTA needing special paperwork. So the final consensus from higher-ups was that they would not be included in this document. However, they are indeed active service vehicles.

I heard from someone that transit system can't order school type vehicles. So I can imagine that headache.

 

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  • 3 months later...

Upcoming route changes in June include:
Routes 24, 25 elimination and Route 44 converting to Flex Service. We have two cutaways on order for the Flex bus fleet and to my knowledge, no fixed route buses currently on order. So the three Phantoms will remain for some more time. Not much to update since we've been running regular service and nothing else has really changed.

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  • 1 month later...

On June 28, 2021, Bus 2607 was rear ended by a pickup truck at a high rate of speed. Both the bus and the pickup then caught fire. Tragically, the pickup truck driver was trapped in the vehicle and passed away at the scene. The Bus Operator and all 15 passengers on board the bus were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries. 

Due to the damage sustained in the accident, the bus will be retired. 

For those who'd like to see footage of the accident scene, here's a few news links:

https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2021/06/28/1-dead-in-crash-involving-a-votran-bus-in-daytona-beach?fbclid=IwAR1vodXnGfmAQW2KpRU-Bxs0VQ_r4RsEzKB6LHufKSAjXa0EiaLSeSZhnG0

https://www.wesh.com/article/volusia-bus-truck-crash-deadly/36862720?fbclid=IwAR1pdK_iXHJMF7WmzUo72cDRp_1nYKUPzilhMbzxq8aF0msrUqTPOzM-0EY

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  • 3 months later...
On 10/12/2021 at 3:21 AM, Thomasw said:

Is there any reason as to why the 61XX, 71XX and 81XX cutaways are not mentioed in the wiki? I assume they are used for paratransit but am not sure.

You'd be correct, the 5xxx, 6xxx, 7xxx, and 8xxx (excluding 7200 specifically) are Paratransit buses. 

 

_______

A minor update, the plexiglass operator shield that was installed on 2611 was removed, as it was just a pilot. In the future, all buses will be equipped with a door, like what 2701/2 have. In addition, all fixed route buses recently received a modification that causes the center mounted brake lights to flash. Several other transit properties in FL have done similar, to draw attention to the stopped bus.

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On 10/13/2021 at 6:05 PM, CentralFLTransitFan said:

You'd be correct, the 5xxx, 6xxx, 7xxx, and 8xxx (excluding 7200 specifically) are Paratransit buses. 

Alright thanks. I updated the wiki a couple a days ago based off of a couple new and old paratransit reports that outlines their fleet and based off of some photos on google. 

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