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Comprehensive Plan Transportation Element Demand Response Service Medical demand response is provided throughout the county between 6 : 30 AM and 5 : 30 PM. Pick-ups are scheduled every half-hour. Transportation services for medical clients are multiple- client pick-ups whenever scheduling permits, but single passenger escort service is provided when needed. Due to the nature of regular doctor visits, more than one client may be asked to share a van, and two wheelchairs can be accommodated in the lift equipped vehicles . Clients are asked to make reservations for shopping trips seven days in advance, and reservations for medical trips are requested three to seven days in advance. Medical appointments can be scheduled up to two months in advance. Services provided by the Community Coach fit the context of a coordinated transportation service system. These services are accessible to all client groups, regardless of disability, age, race, religion, or ethnic background. Efforts are constantly made through door-to-door outreach and group meetings to improve the level of service to all ages, especially low-income, minority, and disabled persons . Fixed Route From November 1992 to October 1994, flexible fixed route public transportation was provided through funding by a private foundation. This seed money was given to establish a pilot program with one vehicle. The pilot program was established to ensure that transportation alternatives of a fixed route nature could become established in the county . Beginning in October 1994, seven of these flexible fixed routes were established in the county . Through Federal Transit Administration Section 9/Section 5307 funding, FDOT Public Transportation Block Grant funding, and local funding, these seven routes have become eight permanent fixed routes operating from 8 : 00 AM — 5 : 00 PM, five days per week . Unlike the flexible service, the permanent fixed routes maintain fixed schedules that do not include diversions to accommodate individual passengers . The permanent, fixed-route service was renamed Indian River Transit in 2000, to distinguish it from the Community Coach demand response service. Figures 4. 5A — 4. 5H depict the eight existing fixed transit routes in the county. Six of the Indian River Transit routes operate hourly from the County' s Central Transportation Hub at Pocahontas Park in Downtown Vero Beach and serve destinations such as the beach area, the Indian River Mall, the Gifford Community and South Indian River County. A seventh route connects the South County Route Terminus at South Oslo Plaza with the Indian River Mall and Indian River Community College, effectively supplying coverage throughout the populated areas of South Indian River County. An eighth route serves the Sebastian area. Table 4 . 3A shows the number of trips provided by route for the one year period from July 1 , 2001 to June 30, 2002 . The net effect of adding fixed route service has been an overall increase in transit service in Indian River County without a major increase in the operating system budget. An important aspect of the Indian River Transit system is that the fixed route service is more efficient at serving the mobility needs of county residents than the demand responsive service . This is illustrated by the statistics in Table 4. 3B . Community Development Department Indian River County 28