diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 658218361..4da3cf32d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,12 +9,30 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Added
 
+- The development runner how handles custom `body` data for `DailyTransport`.
+  The `body` data is passed to the Pipecat client. You can POST to the `/start`
+  endpoint with a request body of:
+
+  ```
+  {
+      "createDailyRoom": true,
+      "dailyRoomProperties": { "start_video_off": true },
+      "body": { "custom_data": "value" }
+  }
+  ```
+
+  The `body` information is parsed and used in the application. The
+  `dailyRoomProperties` are currently not handled.
+
 - Added detailed latency logging to `UserBotLatencyLogObserver`, capturing
   average response time between user stop and bot start, as well as minimum and
   maximum response latency.
 
 ### Changed
 
+- The development runners `/connect` and `/start` endpoint now both return
+  `dailyRoom` and `dailyToken` in place of the previous `room_url` and `token`.
+
 - Updated the `pipecat.runner.daily` utility to only a take `DAILY_API_URL` and
   `DAILY_SAMPLE_ROOM_URL` environment variables instead of argparsing `-u` and
   `-k`, respectively.
@@ -50,6 +68,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - In the `pipecat.runner.daily`, the `configure_with_args()` function is
   deprecated. Use the `configure()` function instead.
 
+- The development runner's `/connect` endpoint is deprecated and will be
+  removed in a future version. Use the `/start` endpoint in its place. In the
+  meantime, both endpoints work and deliver equivalent functionality.
+
 ## [0.0.77] - 2025-07-31
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/src/pipecat/runner/run.py b/src/pipecat/runner/run.py
index 79750d3e9..77902adfd 100644
--- a/src/pipecat/runner/run.py
+++ b/src/pipecat/runner/run.py
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ from pipecat.runner.types import (
 try:
     import uvicorn
     from dotenv import load_dotenv
-    from fastapi import BackgroundTasks, FastAPI, WebSocket
+    from fastapi import BackgroundTasks, FastAPI, Request, WebSocket
     from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
     from fastapi.responses import HTMLResponse, RedirectResponse
 except ImportError as e:
@@ -261,17 +261,43 @@ def _setup_daily_routes(app: FastAPI):
         async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
             room_url, token = await configure(session)
 
-            # Start the bot in the background
+            # Start the bot in the background with empty body for GET requests
             bot_module = _get_bot_module()
             runner_args = DailyRunnerArguments(room_url=room_url, token=token, body={})
             asyncio.create_task(bot_module.bot(runner_args))
             return RedirectResponse(room_url)
 
-    @app.post("/connect")
-    async def rtvi_connect():
-        """Launch a Daily bot and return connection info for RTVI clients."""
+    async def _handle_rtvi_request(request: Request):
+        """Common handler for both /start and /connect endpoints.
+
+        Expects POST body like::
+
+            {
+                "createDailyRoom": true,
+                "dailyRoomProperties": { "start_video_off": true },
+                "body": { "custom_data": "value" }
+            }
+        """
         print("Starting bot with Daily transport")
 
+        # Parse the request body
+        try:
+            request_data = await request.json()
+            logger.debug(f"Received request: {request_data}")
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.error(f"Failed to parse request body: {e}")
+            request_data = {}
+
+        # Extract the body data that should be passed to the bot
+        # This mimics Pipecat Cloud's behavior
+        bot_body = request_data.get("body", {})
+
+        # Log the extracted body data for debugging
+        if bot_body:
+            logger.info(f"Extracted body data for bot: {bot_body}")
+        else:
+            logger.debug("No body data provided in request")
+
         import aiohttp
 
         from pipecat.runner.daily import configure
@@ -279,11 +305,30 @@ def _setup_daily_routes(app: FastAPI):
         async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
             room_url, token = await configure(session)
 
-            # Start the bot in the background
+            # Start the bot in the background with extracted body data
             bot_module = _get_bot_module()
-            runner_args = DailyRunnerArguments(room_url=room_url, token=token, body={})
+            runner_args = DailyRunnerArguments(room_url=room_url, token=token, body=bot_body)
             asyncio.create_task(bot_module.bot(runner_args))
-            return {"room_url": room_url, "token": token}
+            # Match PCC /start endpoint response format:
+            return {"dailyRoom": room_url, "dailyToken": token}
+
+    @app.post("/start")
+    async def rtvi_start(request: Request):
+        """Launch a Daily bot and return connection info for RTVI clients."""
+        return await _handle_rtvi_request(request)
+
+    @app.post("/connect")
+    async def rtvi_connect(request: Request):
+        """Launch a Daily bot and return connection info for RTVI clients.
+
+        .. deprecated:: 0.0.78
+            Use /start instead. This endpoint will be removed in a future version.
+        """
+        logger.warning(
+            "DEPRECATED: /connect endpoint is deprecated. Please use /start instead. "
+            "This endpoint will be removed in a future version."
+        )
+        return await _handle_rtvi_request(request)
 
 
 def _setup_telephony_routes(app: FastAPI, transport_type: str, proxy: str):
@@ -345,6 +390,7 @@ async def _run_daily_direct():
     async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
         room_url, token = await configure(session)
 
+        # Direct connections have no request body, so use empty dict
         runner_args = DailyRunnerArguments(room_url=room_url, token=token, body={})
 
         # Get the bot module and run it directly