The popularity of the COAST service has increased dramatically, according to Rad Nichols, COAST's executive director, but so has the cost of paying for it, jumping from $180,000 in 2009 to a little less than $900,000 this year. Nichols said he believes the state is to blame for a substantial part of the increase in paratransit riders because it has encouraged seniors and disabled residents to call COAST so the state doesn't have to provide the service.
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