Fare-free SunRunner could end sooner than planned due to increase in homeless riders
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - PSTA officials said while there are more homeless individuals at the beach now than before the SunRunner, the SunRunner isn't driving an increase in crime.
"If I'm a St. Pete Beach resident, I am noticing more folks that are housing disadvantaged still walking around and now this perception of, 'oh, and by the way, it's horrible for our entire neighborhood and crime is going up and it has to be them and it has to be the SunRunner,'" James Bradford, PSTA's COO, said. "That has just kind of spiraled into this whole thing and it's hard to kind of fight against that after that bell has been rung," he said.
"We are bringing more folks that are housing disadvantaged because we run a free service. They are getting on our vehicles enjoying the air conditioning in a record-setting heat wave, charging their phones as they're allowed to do because we're offering the service and they're getting off at Beach Access Park," Bradford said.
Many homeless individuals, PSTA officials said, are sleeping on the beach overnight.
That’s against the city’s ordinance. Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies have been patrolling the SunRunner stops at the beach since July.
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"His [Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri] deputies were stationed out there and arresting individuals that were sleeping on the beach, trespassing," PSTA’s CEO Brad Miller said.
PSTA also hired security that has patrolled the buses and the stops since July 25. PSTA has a contract with Allied Universal Security to walk through the buses and monitor the SunRunner route from morning until midnight.
PSTA also has employees who ride along on the buses.
Sheriff Gualtieri told local leaders his patrols cost $10,000 a week and that it isn’t sustainable.
"The sheriff said, ‘I have to end it and you have to implement a fare. If you don’t implement an affair by August 15, I will contact the PSTA board members and force you to implement a fare," Miller said at PSTA’s August 16 Planning Committee meeting.
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Miller proposed a 50-cent fare for beach-bound buses only at that meeting. They’d have an inspection process to ensure people pay the fare. He said he’s also trying to work with St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch, who allotted money in his budget for 2024 to keep the SunRunner free.
"It was his opinion that, in his words, a few bad apples were causing the problem, and why mess it up for thousands of our residents," Miller said.
Mayor Welch also wrote a letter to Miller voicing his concerns about the fare.
"While I strongly support the partnership and collaboration between the City of St. Petersburg, PSTA and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, I have concerns about this approach, both in terms of its potential effectiveness and equity," Welch wrote.
"I believe that a better understanding of the scope of the impact of the problem is needed. I don’t doubt that a problem exists, and I do support the need to find effective solutions to identified issues," Welch continued.
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Mayor Welch urged PSTA to continue collaborating with the city and other partners to find a "fair and practical" solution.
The fare, that riders can’t pay for in cash, Miller said, was supposed to be a one-month pilot program starting Monday, Aug. 21.
However, PSTA members said at the Aug. 16 Planning Committee meeting that they wanted to discuss it more at Wednesday’s board meeting.
"Is it an issue," Rene Flowers, PSTA’s Secretary and Treasurer, said. "Yes, it is. I agree. It is an issue. Do we need to deal with it? Yes, but I just get a little irritated when persons want to put everything on one department or one organization because homelessness is a national issue," Flowers said.
"You don't call somebody and tell them how to do their business with a week's notice," Jim Olliver, a PSTA board member, said. "It's just not how business is done. That's not what would happen if we called the sheriff's department and said we want to change how they operate the department," he said.
A motion for PSTA staff members to present potential options regarding the fare to the board members at Wednesday's meeting was unanimously approved at PSTA's Planning Committee meeting on Aug. 16.
It was also mentioned in that meeting that St. Pete's residents are some of the only ones in the county that don't pay property taxes to support the transit authority.
At a St. Pete Beach's Commission meeting on Aug. 8, several city leaders voiced their opinions against the fare-free SunRunner.
"The problem is that we have people at the bus stop," St. Pete Beach Mayor Adrian Petrila said. " We've got reports of people being harassed at Publix, being accosted by people, being chased around the parking lot, the same at the county park [beach access]. That was the reason why the sheriff offered to put that in place the first place," he said.
The political action committee Protect St. Pete Beach issued the following statement about the SunRunner:
"We strongly support the Pinellas County Sheriff's efforts to ensure the SunRunner begins charging a fare for all passengers. We appreciate the PSTA and sheriff's department collaborating on increased security and enforcement to ensure St. Pete Beach is safe and enjoyable. However, we agree with Sheriff Gualtieri that charging a fare for all passengers is the only sustainable long-term solution."
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On the other hand, the Pinellas Continuum of Care urged PSTA to keep the SunRunner fare-free in its statement.
"The plan to charge a $0.50 fee that can only be paid electronically has far-reaching implications that cannot be ignored. Councilmember Kathleen Beckman, Chair of the CoC, states that 'the heart of the issue is that this seemingly small fee could disproportionately affect marginalized communities, perpetuating an already substantial economic divide,' noting that 'SunRunner's free fares provide many low-income residents with reliable transportation to and from work, as well as offering families the opportunity to enjoy some of Pinellas County's most popular destinations."
Fox 13 requested crime statistics for St. Pete Beach since the SunRunner started and before it launched and the number of arrests for both periods. The agency is looking into the request and said the sheriff won’t comment until Wednesday’s PSTA Board of Directors meeting.
Wednesday, the board will decide between keeping the SunRunner fare-free until Nov. 1 or imposing the 50-cent fare for beach-bound buses only.