The National Transit Database (NTD) program is committed to respecting your right to privacy and will protect it when you visit our website. Here are some things you should know about how we protect your privacy.

This Privacy Policy explains our online information practices only, including how we collect and use your personal information. It covers information collected on this Federal Transit Administration website. Our Privacy Policy does not apply to third party websites that you are able to reach from our website, nor does it cover practices of other elements within the Department of Transportation. We encourage you to read the Privacy Policies of those elements and third parties to learn how they collect and use information about you.

What We Automatically Collect Online

We collect information about your visit that does not identify you personally. We can tell the computer, browser, and web service you are using. We also know the date, time, and pages you visit. Collecting this information helps us design the site to suit your needs. In the event of a known security or virus threat, we may collect information on the web content you view.

Other Information We May Collect

When you visit our website, we may request and collect the following categories of personal information from you:

• Contact information
• If you linked to our website from another website, the address of that website.

Why We Collect Information

Our principal purpose for collecting personal information online is to provide you with what you need and want, address security and virus concerns, and to ease the use of our website.

We will only use your information for the purposes you intended, to address security or virus threats, or for the purposes required under the law. See “Choices on How We Use the Information You Provide” to learn more. We collect information to:

• Respond to your complaints
• Reply to your feedback comments
• Fulfill requests for reports and other similar information

Sharing Your Information

We may share personally identifiable information you provide to us online with representatives within the Department of Transportation (see www.dot.gov/DOTagencies.htm for information on DOT, Federal Transit Administration, and related entities), other federal government agencies, or other named representatives as needed to speed your request or transaction. In a government-wide effort to combat security and virus threats, we may share some information we collect automatically, such as IP address, with other federal government agencies.

Also, the law may require us to share collected information with authorized law enforcement, homeland security, and national security activities. See the Privacy Act of 1974 below.

Choices on How We Use the Information You Provide

Throughout our website, we will let you know whether the information we ask you to provide is voluntary or required. By providing personally identifiable information, you grant us consent to use this information, but only for the primary reason you are giving it. We will ask you to grant us consent before using your voluntarily provided information for any secondary purposes, other than those required under the law.

Information Practices for Children

We do not intentionally collect information from children under the age of 13. If in the future we choose to collect personal information from children, we will comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Cookies or Other Tracking Devices

A “cookie” is a small text file stored on your computer that makes it easy for you to move around a website without continually re-entering your name, password and preferences, for example.

We only use “session” cookies on our website. This means we store the cookie on your computer only during your visit to our website. After you turn off your computer or stop using the Internet, the cookie disappears with your personal information.

Securing Your Information

Properly securing the information we collect online is a primary commitment. To help us do this, we take the following steps:

• Employ internal access controls to ensure the only people who see your information are those with a need to do so to perform their official duties
• Train relevant personnel on our privacy and security measures to know requirements for compliance
• Secure the areas where we hold hard copies of information we collect online
• Perform regular backups of the information we collect online to insure against loss

Use technical controls to secure the information we collect online including but not limited to:

• Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
• Encryption
• Firewalls
• Password protections
• We periodically test our security procedures to ensure personnel and technical compliance
• We employ external access safeguards to identify and prevent unauthorized tries of outsiders to hack into, or cause harm to, the information in our systems

You are accessing a U.S. Government information system. This information system, including all related equipment, networks, and network devices, is provided for U.S. Government-authorized use only. Unauthorized or improper use of this system is prohibited, and may result in civil and criminal penalties, or administrative disciplinary action. The communications and data stored or transiting this system may be, for any lawful Government purpose, monitored, recorded, and subject to audit or investigation. By using this system, you understand and consent to such terms.

CAUTION: Extensive efforts have been made to assure the quality of information contained in this report. It is impossible, however, to achieve complete accuracy and consistency of the reported data. In addition, the reported data do not include all relevant information generally necessary to explain apparent differences in performance (e.g., information related to work rules, topography, climate, and unusual events such as strikes and service start-ups). Users of this report, therefore, should be careful not to draw unwarranted conclusions based solely on the data contained herein.

If you have any questions, please contact our webmaster.

Last updated: 08/04/2009