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XL VEHICLE DISPATCH AND TELEPHONE SYSTEMS The OPERATOR is responsible for all scheduling,dispatching and transportation functions. Trip requests will be made directly to the OPERATOR through telephone calls, and/or email to OPERATOR's office. The OPERATOR shall accommodate advance reservations in accordance with the established standards. OPERATOR shall employ a scheduling method to target a minimum of 1.5 passenger trips per hour during service hours. This may be achieved through shared rides and trip negotiations of up to one hour prior to or after the initial requested time. The OPERATOR must dedicate enough staff and rotation telephone lines to ensure that calls are answered promptly. OPERATOR will take reservations during the program's service hours, Monday through Friday. OPERATOR will ensure that the telephone system can connect a caller to a live person for service-related issues during service hours. The telephone system utilized must include the ability to inform callers who have to wait to be served that their call has been received and that they will be served in turn, and/or provide a means for the caller to leave a message. If a message is left during service hours, a return call must be made within 15 minutes of the initial call. During non-service hours, OPERATOR will provide a voice mail service to handle reservation requests,cancellations and/or trip changes. OPERATOR's staff will check the voice mail for messages at the beginning of each service day and throughout the day to ensure that calls are returned in a timely manner. Individual trips may be reserved up to three days in advance. All trip requests will be accommodated on a first come, first served basis and reservations will be made based on the availability of space on the vehicle. Any trip that cannot be accommodated by the OPERATOR must be documented with an explanation as to why the trip was denied and reported to the CITY. If a caller is not registered or is requesting general information regarding the CITY's program, the OPERATOR will refer customer to the CITY Senior Center. OPERATOR will place individual trip requests into efficient routes and record trips on driver manifests. OPERATOR will issue manifests to the drivers each day. In the event that the OPERATOR runs the route late and the OPERATOR's dispatcher is unable to assign a potentially late trip to another vehicle, the OPERATOR will call the passenger prior to the original promised pick-up time to notify him/her of the late trip and of the estimated vehicle arrival time. Additionally, the Dispatcher will call the passenger if the service vehicle arrives at pick-up point but passenger is not present to board the vehicle. The OPERATOR shall keep all dispatch logs for the duration of the contract and for 12 months thereafter. XII. VEHICLE DEPLOYMENT The OPERATOR will schedule driver shifts and vehicles to ensure that the optimum number of vehicles is used to both maximize productivity and minimize service costs. The CITY's Paratransit Program Manager will work in coordination with the OPERATOR's Project Manager to determine the optimum number of vehicles that will be utilized for service, based on the