Vince Cocks News Today

After carrying more than a million passengers on its downtown St. Petersburg-to-St. Pete Beach route in its first 11 months, the SunRunner is no longer free. As of Sunday, the rapid bus service costs the same as any other line operated by the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority: $2.25 per ride, or $1.10 per ride for those ages 9-18 or 65 or older, riders with disabilities and adult students ...

Fares on the rapid bus line went into effect Sunday, a month earlier than the transit agency had planned, after a conflict over homeless riders.

The SunRunner, the bus that shuttles riders between downtown St. Pete and St. Pete Beach, has been free since it launched last October.

Pinellas County’s transit agency could introduce fares on the popular SunRunner rapid bus route, which has been free to ride since its inception, sooner than planned. The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority planned to charge regular fares beginning in November, at the conclusion of the downtown St. Petersburg-to-St. Pete Beach route’s first year. But the possibility that the authority’s board ...