Local

SunRail passengers pay up starting Monday

ORLANDO, Fla. — The free ride is over for SunRail passengers. Starting Monday, riders had to pay for a ticket.

For the first two weeks, passengers rode the commuter train for free.

Trains were nearly empty to start the morning.

Service was much less crowded Monday, and there were some growing pains with the system.

WFTV reporter Karla Ray got on board at Sand Lake Road at about 8:45 a.m. and took the train to DeBary. During that time, about three people were on board.

Many people told WFTV they found purchasing tickets confusing, and they were surprised that no one on the trains was checking tickets to make sure that people paid.

At the Orlando Health and DeBary stations, some of the tap on or tap off kiosks were not working.

Those are glitches some say should have been worked out during the first two weeks of free rides.

"These are old train lines, so some of these things are going to be expected, but the time frame they've had to do this and get this developed some of these things should've been worked out as well," said passenger Victor Nathan.

The system needs 2,100 round trip riders daily to break even on the billion-dollar investment.

Cash is not accepted at the train stations and there may be lines at some stations throughout the week.