Riding the Jacksonville Skyway will be free until at least October — and the  agency that runs the Skyway is seriously considering making the free ride  permanent.

Officials with the Jacksonville Transportation Authority announced this year that the Skyway would not charge a  fare from February until the end of April because it didn't want to  inconvenience riders using the agency's new STAR Card payment system, which  enables riders to pay fares electronically.

Fares are normally 50 cents.

"The Skyway will be free until the end of the fiscal year [Sept. 30]," said  JTA spokeswoman Shannon Eller, "while we evaluate a business case for making it  permanently free."

Even when the JTA was collecting fares, the Skyway still operated in the red — about $4 million a year.  Revenue from the local 6-cent gas tax is used to help cover this annual  loss.