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Comprehensive Plan Transportation Element
<br /> in the County. As such, the Council on Aging operates both fixed-route and paratransit vehicles
<br /> and serves as the broker of rides through a coordinated organization of paratransit providers .
<br /> Three types of transit service are provided through the Council on Aging. These are fixed route;
<br /> demand response, and dial-a-ride. Historically, demand response service was the customary
<br /> means of providing service for transportation disadvantaged individuals in the county. In 1994,
<br /> the county began offering fixed route service to all county residents and visitors, with the
<br /> expectation that some of the more able paratransit clients would prefer to utilize the more
<br /> convenient and less costly fixed route service. Finally, the Council on Aging offers
<br /> complementary dial-a-ride service for those persons who wish to use the fixed route service and
<br /> live more than '/a mile from a bus stop.
<br /> Through dial-a-ride, fixed route and demand response service, the transit system serves the
<br /> transportation needs of clients of a variety of social service, public health and mental health
<br /> providers and organizations . A partial list of organizations served includes New Horizons
<br /> Mental Health Services , the Florida Department of Children and Families, the YMCA, the
<br /> Coalition for the Homeless, Job Services of Florida, welfare services, and county administration
<br /> services , as well as several adult day care centers, nursing homes, medical facilities, and nutrition
<br /> sites . Clients served include Social Security recipients, the unemployed, and the elderly,
<br /> disabled, minority and poor populations . These people are provided with trips for medical ,
<br /> shopping, social and employment purposes.
<br /> Transportation Disadvantaged
<br /> Like many counties, Indian River County has a significant number of transportation
<br /> disadvantaged individuals. Generally, a person is considered transportation disadvantaged if,
<br /> because of age, income, or handicap, the person does not have access to transportation. For these
<br /> people, lack of transportation is a barrier to receiving needed social and medical services; to
<br /> having access to employment centers and educational facilities; and to having access to other
<br /> life-sustaining activities. In March 1992, Indian River County developed a Coordinated
<br /> Transportation Disadvantaged Development Plan to assess the need for transportation
<br /> disadvantaged service and to establish a program for serving the identified need. The plan
<br /> included an analysis of the county' s transportation disadvantaged population, considering age,
<br /> income, and economic factors. In 2002, the County prepared its most recent Transportation
<br /> Disadvantaged Service Plan, which updated the transportation disadvantaged population
<br /> estimates and projections .
<br /> In 2001 , it was estimated that about 26% of the county' s population was transportation
<br /> disadvantaged. That equated to 29, 899 county residents being transportation disadvantaged.
<br /> Projections for 2005 , 2010 and 2020 were 31 ,902, 34,606 , and 40,352 , respectively. The
<br /> transportation disadvantaged estimate and projection methodology is detailed in the county' s
<br /> adopted FY 2002/03 Transportation Disadvantaged Service Plan.
<br /> Community Development Department Indian River County 27
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