Pinellas County will start charging fares for SunRunner

The free Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority bus service between St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach will come to an early end on Oct. 1, after the board voted on Thursday morning.

The bus ticket will be $2.25 starting Oct. 1. The free SunRunner fare was never meant to be permanent and would have ended in November, but recent alleged crimes stirred St. Pete Beach residents and businesses to action, with some calling for a mid-September fare.

The free SunRunner bus service was popular, and will soon hit 1 million riders. The service was kicked off in October 2022.