Effective Date: October 1, 2020

Welcome to Metro Bus! This website is operated by St. Cloud Metropolitan Transit Commission (“we,” “us,” “our,” or “Metro Bus”). The following terms and conditions (together with any documents referred to in them) (collectively, these “Terms”) apply to your use of our website or other services offered at https://ridemetrobus.com (the “Site”), our mobile application (together with all documentation, the “Smart Ride App” or “Application”) or other services offered through the Site or Smart Ride App (collectively our “System”).

BEFORE USING THIS SYSTEM, PLEASE READ THESE TERMS. YOUR ACCESS TO, USE OF, OR DOWNLOAD OF ANY PART OF THE SYSTEM MEANS THAT YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO THESE TERMS. IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT AND AGREE TO THESE TERMS OR OUR PRIVACY POLICY, DO NOT DOWNLOAD, INSTALL, USE OR ACCESS THE SYSTEM.

Revisions to these Terms

We may revise and update these Terms of Use in our sole discretion, and will post any updates to the Terms of Use on the System. You should periodically review the Site for changes to the Terms. Your continued use of our Site or System, or any other service provided through System, means that you accept and agree to the modified Terms of Use.

Intellectual Property

You are granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the System and to download, install, and use the Application strictly in accordance with the documentation on your mobile device for your personal, non-commercial use. As a condition of your use of the System, you warrant that you will not use the System for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms. You may not use the System in any manner which could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the System, or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the System. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through the System.

All content included as part of the System, such as information, documents, products, services, text, graphics, logos, images, as well as the compilation thereof, and any software used on the System, is our property or the property of our suppliers or third-party developers, authors, manufacturers, or vendors and protected by copyright and other laws that protect intellectual property and proprietary rights. You agree to observe and abide by all copyright and other proprietary notices, legends, or other restrictions contained in any such content, and will not make any changes thereto.

You will not modify, publish, transmit, reverse engineer, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit any of the content, in whole or in part, found on the System. Our content is not for resale. Your use of the System does not entitle you to make any unauthorized use of any protected content, and in particular you will not delete or alter any proprietary rights or attribution notices in any content. You will use protected content solely for your personal use, and will make no other use of the content without our express written permission. You agree that you do not acquire any ownership rights in any protected content. We do not grant you any licenses, express or implied, to our intellectual property or our licensors, except as expressly authorized by these Terms.

You also may not, without Metro Bus’s prior express written permission, “mirror” any material on any other server. Except as stated in these Terms, nothing on this System shall be construed as conferring, by estoppel, implication or otherwise, any license to any intellectual property rights of Metro Bus or any third party provider. Any unauthorized use of any materials may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, the laws of privacy and publicity, and communications regulations and statutes.

If you breach any of these provisions, this permission terminates automatically without notice, and you must immediately destroy any Metro Bus materials in your possession or control and uninstall the Smart Ride App from your mobile device.

Accessing the System and Your Account

We reserve the right to withdraw or amend this System, and any service or material we provide on the System in our sole discretion without notice. We will not be liable if for any reason all or any part of the System is unavailable at any time or for any period. From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of the System, or the entire System, to users, including registered users. You are responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the System.

To access the System or some of the resources it offers, you may be asked to provide certain registration details or other information. It is a condition of your use of the System that all the information you provide on the System is correct, current, and complete. If you choose, or are provided with, a user name, password, or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential, and you must not disclose it to any other person or entity. You also acknowledge that your account is personal to you and agree not to provide any other person with access to this System or portions of it using your user name, password, or other security information. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to or use of your user name or password or any other breach of security. You should use particular caution when accessing your account from a public or shared computer so that others are not able to view or record your password or other personal information.

We have the right to disable any user name, password, or other identifier, whether chosen by you or provided by us, at any time in our sole discretion for any or no reason, including if, in our opinion, you have violated any provision of these Terms of Use.

Smart Ride App

“Mobile Phone” used within these terms relates to any mobile device that is able to install the Smart Ride App and display the mobile ticket using the device’s data capability.

The security of your Mobile Phone is your responsibility. However, if your Mobile Phone is lost/stolen/replaced, you can sign in to your account (on your new phone) with your user ID (email) and password. If you have active or non-active products, and do not see them, please delete and reinstall the Smart Ride App. If your tickets are still not shown, contact Metro Bus at (320) 251-7433 for assistance importing your tickets to your new Mobile Phone.

Purchasing Passes:
By purchasing a mobile pass, you agree to activate the ticket prior to boarding the vehicle, cooperate fully with the bus operator, and display your Mobile Phone and any of the pass details for inspection. It is your responsibility to ensure the Mobile Phone is sufficiently charged and functional to clearly display the pass as required for the duration of your journey. If you are unable to display your mobile pass, you may be required to purchase a new fare (surcharge may apply).

Credit Card Authorizations:
You authorize and instruct Metro Bus to charge the amount of your purchase to a designated credit card/charge card or debit card. You understand and agree that Metro Bus is not liable in any way for incorrect charges to your credit card account(s), and that should an error occur, Metro Bus’s sole responsibility is to correct it, when and if Metro Bus receives written notice of the error, with proper documentation, from you. You are responsible for any charges imposed by your bank or credit card company for exceeding your account limits or overdrawing your account.

System Maintenance:
During system maintenance and upgrades, you may be unable to purchase/activate passes via the Smart Ride App. Every effort will be made to keep service disruptions to a minimum.

Updates:
Metro Bus may from time to time in its sole discretion develop and provide Smart Ride App updates, which may include upgrades, bug fixes, patches, other error corrections, and/or new features (collectively, including related documentation, “Updates”). Updates may also modify or delete in their entirety certain features and functionality. You agree that Metro Bus has no obligation to provide any Updates or to continue to provide or enable any particular features or functionality. You shall promptly download and install all Updates and acknowledge and agree that the Application or portions thereof may not properly operate should you fail to do so. You further agree that all Updates will be deemed part of the Application and be subject to all terms and conditions of this Agreement.

Collection and Use of Your Information:
You acknowledge that when you download, install, or use the Smart Ride App, Metro Bus may use automatic means (including, for example, cookies and web beacons) to collect information about your Mobile Device and about your use of the Smart Ride App. You also may be required to provide certain information about yourself as a condition to downloading, installing, or using the Mobile App or certain features or functionality. All information we collect through or in connection with the Smart Ride App is subject to our By downloading, installing, using, and providing information to or through this Smart Ride App, you consent to all actions taken by us with respect to your information in compliance with the Privacy Policy.

Reliance on Information Posted

The information presented on or through the System is made available solely for general information purposes. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of this information. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. We disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by you or any other visitor to the System, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents. Metro Bus may change the content on the System at any time without notice, and has no obligation to update the content on the System.

This System may include content provided by third parties, including materials provided by other users, bloggers, and third-party licensors, syndicators, aggregators, and/or reporting services. All statements and/or opinions expressed in these materials, and all articles and responses to questions and other content, other than the content provided by Metro Bus, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity providing those materials. These materials do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Metro Bus. We are not responsible, or liable to you or any third party, for the content or accuracy of any materials provided by any third parties.

Warranty and Limitation of Liability

METRO BUS AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES OR SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, RELIABILITY, AVAILABILITY, TIMELINESS, AND ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND RELATED GRAPHICS CONTAINED ON THE SYSTEM FOR ANY PURPOSE. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ALL SUCH INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND RELATED GRAPHICS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND. METRO BUS AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH REGARD TO THE SYSTEM AND RELATED INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND RELATED GRAPHICS, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL METRO BUS AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE SYSTEM, WITH THE DELAY OR INABILITY TO USE THE SYSTEM, THE PROVISION OF OR FAILURE TO PROVIDE SERVICES, OR FOR ANY INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND RELATED GRAPHICS OBTAINED THROUGH THE SYSTEM, OR OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE SYSTEM OR THE APPLICATION, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF METRO BUS OR ANY OF ITS SUPPLIERS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES/JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED WITH ANY PORTION OF THE SYSTEM, OR WITH ANY OF THESE TERMS OF USE, YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY IS TO DISCONTINUE USING THE SYSTEM AND UNINSTALL THE SMART RIDE APP.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Metro Bus, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and third parties, for any losses, costs, liabilities and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) relating to or arising out of your use of or inability to use the System, any claim, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any rights of a third party or your violation of any applicable laws, rules, or regulations. We reserve the right, at our own cost, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will fully cooperate with us in asserting any available defenses.

Electronic Communications

Visiting the Site, using the System, or sending emails to us constitutes electronic communications. You consent to receive electronic communications and you agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to you electronically, via email, and on the System, satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. To opt out of receiving marketing emails from us, follow the “unsubscribe” link on the email to change your user preferences. There are certain system-generated and legal notices that you cannot opt out of without deactivating your account.

Links to Other Materials and Connecting through Social Media

The System may contain hyperlinks to websites operated by third parties. We do not control such websites and will not be responsible for their content, or for any breach of contract, or any intentional or negligent action on the part of such third parties, which results in any loss, damage, delay, or injury to you or your companions. Inclusion of any linked website on the System does not imply or constitute approval or endorsement of the linked website by us. If you decide to leave the System to access these third-party sites, you do so at your own risk. All rules, policies (including privacy policies), and operating procedures of websites operated by third parties will apply to you while on such sites. We are not responsible for information provided by you to third parties. Metro Bus reserves the right to terminate any link or linking program at any time.

Terms and Termination

These Terms remain in force so long as you continue to access or use the System or until terminated by any party. Metro Bus may terminate these Terms for any reason at any time and you may terminate by deleting your profile, uninstalling the Smart Ride App, and discontinuing all of Metro Bus’s services. Metro Bus reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend or terminate your profile and access to or use of the System at any time if Metro Bus believes you have acted in violation of these Terms, Metro Bus’s Privacy Policy, or applicable law, or have attempted to interfere with the System, or have acted with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other person. Upon termination, your access to the System will cease.

Translate This Site

This link to Google Translate is provided to assist Metro Bus’s customers. Metro Bus makes no promises, assurances, guarantees or other representations as to the accuracy of these translations, and it will not be liable for any inaccuracies or errors in the translations. It expressly disclaims liability for any loss, damage or other problem resulting from any inaccuracies or errors including, without limitation, indirect or consequential damages of any kind.

Geographic Restrictions

The owner of the System is based in the state of Minnesota in the United States. We provide this System for use only by persons located in the United States. We make no claims that the System or any of its content is accessible or appropriate outside of the United States. Access to the System may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the System from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

Governing Law, Venue and Jurisdiction

These Terms shall be treated as though they were executed and performed in Minnesota, and shall be governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota and the laws of the United States without regard to conflict of law principles. Any claim or dispute related to the System or under these Terms of Use, the Privacy Policy, and any legal notices on this System, must be instituted within one (1) year after the claim arose (if multiple claims, from the date the first claim arose), or be forever waived and barred. You agree that you will bring any claims in, and submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of, the state and federal courts located in the County of Hennepin, in the State of Minnesota.

Miscellaneous Terms

These Terms of Use, together with our Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and us related to your use of the System.

No failure to exercise, and no delay in exercising, on the part of either party, any right or any power hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any right or power hereunder preclude further exercise of that or any other right hereunder. In the event of a conflict between this Agreement and any applicable purchase or other terms, the terms of this Agreement shall govern.

If any provision of this Agreement is illegal or unenforceable under applicable law, the remainder of the provision will be amended to achieve as closely as possible the effect of the original term and all other provisions of this Agreement will continue in full force and effect.

Contact Information

To contact us, email us at [email protected] or by mail to St. Cloud Metropolitan Transit Commission, 665 Franklin Avenue NE, St. Cloud, MN 56304. Customers are urged to call Metro Bus at (320) 251-1499 for assistance; if required.

Metro Bus Privacy Policy

Effective Date: October 1, 2020

This Privacy Policy explains St. Cloud Metropolitan Transit Commission’s data practices in accordance with data privacy laws including the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) (Minn. Stat. § 13) defines our users’ (“you” or “your”) privacy options, and describes how your information is collected and used by St. Cloud Metropolitan Transit Commission (“we,” “us,” “our,” or “Metro Bus”).

This Privacy Policy, along with our Terms of Use govern your use of the Metro Bus website at http://ridemetrobus.com/ (“Site”) and our mobile application (the “App”). For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, we will refer to all of these access points as the Metro Bus system (“System”).

By using the Metro Bus System, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

What Information Is Collected

We may collect personal information about you in connection with your use of our System. For example, this information may be voluntarily provided when you sign up for an account, sign up for a mailing list, fill out a “Contact Us” form, or submit information in connection with a purchase or as part of other online services.  The information we may collect includes:

• Name;
• E-mail addresses of users who send us e-mails;
• Information on the pages users’ access;
• Your name, email address, shipping and billing address, telephone number, and credit card information when you make a purchase from Metro Bus;
• Your location and geographic data when you use the “Trip Planner” feature;
• Information provided to us by users via surveys and site registrations, such as your address, phone numbers, and credit card numbers; and
• Other information related to your requests and inquiries.

Additional information we may collect through the download, installation, and use of the App includes, but may not be limited to:

• User name and password;
• Your search queries on the App;
• Details of transactions you carry out through the App; and
• Other information related to your requests and inquiries.

If you do not provide some of this information, we may not be able to provide services to you or respond to your requests or inquiries.

Some of the personal information we collect from you may happen automatically. We use tracking technologies such as cookies to automatically collect information when users visit our System. Information we collect includes but may not be limited to:

• IP address to measure our website traffic and to help provide a more personalized experience;
• Information regarding your browser and other technical specifications required to use our System;
• Your transaction history relating to the use of our products and services;
• Computer data or files, often called “cookies,” which may be sent by your web browser and stored on an individual computer to allow our server to “recognize” you through the navigation of the Site. These cookies do not contain personally identifying information.

When you download, install, or use the App, we may use automatic means to collect information about your mobile device and about your use of the App. Information we collect includes, but may not be limited to:

• Usage Details. When you access and use the App, we may automatically collect certain details of your access to and use of the App, including location data and traffic data. If you utilize any location-based services in our App, we may collect, use, and share location data, including the real-time geographic location of your device. We use such information to provide and improve location-based products and services. You may opt-out from further allowing us to have access to your location data by adjusting the permissions in your mobile device.
• Device Information. We may collect information about your mobile device and internet connection, including the device’s unique device identifier, IP address, operating system, browser type, mobile network information, and telephone number; and
• Error reports.

For more information, see the “Cookies and Similar Technologies” section below.

Under the MGDPA, some of the information you share may be private data, including your telephone number, email address, internet user name, password, internet protocol address, and any other similar data related to your online account or access procedures.   For more information, please refer to MN. Stat. § 13.356.

What We Do with Your Information

Except as permitted by law, we will not disclose such personal information without your written permission. However, certain information collected from you and about you is used to provide services to you. The information we collect is not shared with or sold to others except as permitted by law and to provide services to you. You specifically agree that Metro Bus may, in its discretion:

1. Collect and/or share information as it deems appropriate in order to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations of use, or as otherwise required by law.
2. Collect and/or share information as it deems appropriate to provide products or services you have requested or when we have your permission.
3. Transfer information about you if Metro Bus is acquired by or merged with another company. In the event of a merger or acquisition, Metro Bus will notify you by email or by posting a notice on the Metro Bus Site before information about you is transferred to the new business.

Metro Bus uses the information we collect for the following general purposes: to provide products and services to you, for billing, identification and authentication, for the improvement of services, to contact you, and for market and product research.

Security

The security of your personal information is important to us and we maintain administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for all user information collected in the System. When you enter sensitive information, such as credit card number on our registration form, we encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL). However, you should be aware that no method of transmitting information over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is completely secure. Therefore, while we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its security in all circumstances. If you have any questions about security on our website, you can send an email to us at [email protected].

Client Data Storage

Metro Bus owns the data storage, databases and all rights associated with our products and services. However, we make no claim to own your confidential business information. We may retain your confidential business information as appropriate for our business records, as required by law or contract and to effect the transactions you request. You retain ownership of your confidential business information and we will not contact your clients directly, or use your confidential business information for our own business advantage or to compete with you or market to your clients.

Cookies

A cookie is a small amount of data, which may include an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are sent to your browser from a website’s computers and stored on your computer’s hard drive. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies but you can choose to accept or decline certain types of cookies if you prefer. Metro Bus uses cookies to record current session information, and our cookies generally last two weeks. This information is classified as private or nonpublic in accordance with MN. Stat.§ 13.15.

Your Rights as the Subject of Government Data

13. Stat. § 13.01 governs your right to see and know about the data that government entities collect, keep, or can release about you:

• All data Metro Bus collects are public and can be seen by anyone unless classified as private or not public by state or federal law.
• You have the right to know what data is collected about you and to view all public or private data about yourself at no cost or be charged a reasonable fee for copies.
• You have the right to have the meaning of data explained to you in a way you understand.

Your Options

You can choose not to provide personal information or limit the personal information obtained by us as follows:

• You may have your contact information removed from our marketing lists to inform users of new or relevant products, services, and special offers by clicking on the unsubscribe link in any communication received from us, or by emailing us at [email protected]; and
• You may limit the collection of “cookies” through your browser settings.

Third Party Websites and Links

Our System may contain links to other websites. These websites may have privacy policies different than our Privacy Policy. The System may also contain certain social media icons or widgets. Although you can view the material we have linked to, you may have to create an individual account or register to use these third-party social media sites to use interactive features. Any interaction on social media or other third-party websites is governed not by this privacy policy but by the terms of use and privacy policy of the particular platform.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time and will mark new versions with a corresponding effective date. We recommend you visit the Site and the relevant App store to review any changes in our practices. If we make material changes to this policy, we will post notice of the changes on our website. Your continued use of the System constitutes your agreement to our then-current Privacy Policy.

Questions

Any questions about this Privacy Policy should be addressed to [email protected] or by mail to
St. Cloud Metropolitan Transit Commission, 665 Franklin Avenue NE, St. Cloud, MN 56304.