Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains

  • What personal data we collect from you when you use our PlusBus website.
  • How we will collect and use that information;
  • How we keep information secure; and
  • How you can contact us if you wish to exercise any of your rights in relation to the information or make a complaint.

The data controller is

Traveline Information Ltd. 22 Greencoat Place, London, SW1P 1PR. Registered in England with Company number 03826797

You can contact the Data Protection Officer by email [email protected] or in writing to Traveline Information Ltd. 22 Greencoat Place, London, SW1P 1PR

What does this policy cover?

This policy describes how Traveline Information Limited (also referred to as “TIL”, "we" or "us"), who are responsible for the administration of the PlusBus scheme, will make use of your data when you browse our website, use our app or other services provided by TIL. TIL is the controller of your personal data.

It also describes your data protection rights, including a right to object to some of the processing which TIL carries out. More information about your rights, and how to exercise them, is set out in the “What rights do I have?” section.

What information do we collect?

We collect and process personal data about you when you interact with us and our website. This includes:

  • information related to the browser or device you use to access our website, and information on how you use and navigate through our website;
  • Email address, feedback and other information you provide if you send us questions or comments via PlusBus@traveline,info

How do we use this information, and what is the legal basis for this use?

We will only use the information you provide as permitted by the Data Protection Law.  Depending on how you contact us, use our services, the consent you have given, our legitimate interests, or legal obligations we may have, this will include:

  • To provide you with details of our products and services and information about travelling, and customer service (this is based on our legitimate interests, to provide information about transport and associated services. Sometimes it is part of our other legal obligations)
  • To provide you with details of promotions and offers which we feel may interest you; (this is based on our legitimate interests when you have given consent for us to contact you and you have an absolute right to ask us to stop sending marketing emails/SMS).
  • To provide products and services you have requested, and respond to any comments or complaints you may send us;
  • To monitor use of our websites, and use your information to help us monitor, improve and protect our site, both online and offline;
  • To personalise our site and journey recommendations for you;
  • To monitor customer accounts to prevent, investigate and/or report fraud, terrorism, misrepresentation, security incidents or crime, in accordance with applicable law;
  • To investigate any complaints received from you or from others, about our website or our products or services;
  • In connection with legal claims, compliance, regulatory and investigative purposes as necessary (including disclosure of such information in connection with legal process or litigation)
  • For your safety and security.
  • To enhance your experience of our website, as described in our cookie policy.

Our Legitimate Interests

Operating our organisation in a safe and socially and environmentally responsible manner, efficiently, to provide information about sustainable and high quality, locally and nationally focused passenger transport services, improve and expand our services, be a leading employer in the transport sector, investing in and developing our colleagues, provide and improve customer services

Sharing or disclosure of your information

We will only share or disclose your information as set out in this Policy or in accordance with Data Protection Law and will obtain your consent where we are required to do so. We will only use third parties to process information where we are satisfied that they comply with these standards and can keep your data secure. We may share or disclose information for the following reasons:

  • We use data processors to provide or assist with some of our services. Where we do so, they must agree to strict contractual terms and to keep your data secure.
  • To respond to your complaints or administer requests you have made, either to us or another regulatory body, ADR or appeals service, or local authorities;
  • If you have agreed to receive information for competition, promotion, survey or research purposes, we may share your contact details with a limited number of parties, but only for the reasons you have agreed to in the terms and conditions of the purpose.

You can find out more below about the information we collect and how we use, share or disclose it.

Who will we share this data with, where and when?

We share your personal data with our web and App supplier, Passenger Transport Group, so that they can provide services.

Public Transport Operating Companies and Local Authorities

If you provide feedback about your travel experience, we may share this with the relevant Public Transport Operating Company and/or Local Authority so they can improve the service they provide. Public Transport Operating Companies and/or Local Authorities may retain your details beyond your use of our app.

Required by law

For purposes which are required by law, in response to requests by government or law enforcement authorities conducting an investigation.

Other data sharing

Personal data may be shared with government authorities and/or law enforcement officials if required for the purposes above, if mandated by law or if required for the legal protection of our legitimate interests in compliance with applicable laws.

Personal data will also be shared with third party service providers, who will process it on behalf of TIL for the purposes identified above. Such third parties include providers of website hosting, app development and app and website maintenance.

Types of Information we collect - Website visits and Mobile App use

This section shows the information we collect when you use our website. Before providing us with your details, please read the following important information regarding:

  • Collection of visitor information;
  • Hyperlinks;
  • Cookies

Collection of visitor information

We will only use the information that we collect about you lawfully, in accordance with the Data Protection Law.

The details you provide about yourself and any other information which identifies you (‘Personal Information’) is held by on this website (the "Site") for operational purposes, for example member registration. We may also use your Personal Information to personalise your experience on the Site by informing you of new products or services that we may think are of interest to you.

Traveline Information Ltd. gathers general information about users, for example, what services users access the most and which areas of the site are most frequently visited. Such data is used in the aggregate to help us to understand how the site and apps are used. We gather this information so that we can continue to improve and develop our services to the benefit of our users. We may make this aggregated information available to users of the site and also to auditors. These statistics are anonymous.

When you register with us, we may ask for personal information such as your name, contact details, and other details. Once you register with and accept our Terms & Conditions, you are not anonymous to us. We may use information that you provide to alert you to our own products and services. We may contact you regarding site changes or changes to the products or services that you use.

You may opt-in to receive newsletters, exclusive discounts, special offers and other marketing emails from us. You may unsubscribe at any time by logging in to your account and updating your preferences. Please note changes to your subscription preferences can take up to 15 working days to take effect.

Hyperlinks

We may provide hyperlinks from the Site to websites of third parties. No liability is accepted for the contents of any site operated by a third party which may be accessed via links from the Site. These links are provided for your convenience only and do not imply that or recommends the content of such sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by Traveline Information Limited.

Cookies and trackers

A cookie is a small piece of information that is sent to your browser when you access a website. Cookies contain information about your visits to that website and the purpose of cookies is to enable our websites to remember you, and your browsing habits, when you visit it again in the future.

We use Cookies for the following main reasons:

  • Collecting data about how customers interact and use our services
  • Make our websites and apps easier to use e.g. staying signed in for when you revisit the site
  • Security reasons e.g. to authenticate your identity
  • Improve our services

With most Internet browsers you can configure your browser so that it refuses new cookies, prompts you to accept cookies or disables cookies altogether. Exactly how this is done is dependent on the browser you use. To find out more about the cookies we use please visit our cookie policy.

Access to our database containing personal information on registered users of the site is restricted. In order to increase security we ask you to input a password when you register as a user of the site. Please keep this password secret. As you may be aware, no data transmission over the Internet can be entirely secure. As a result, while we will always use reasonable endeavours to protect the personal information you provide to us, we cannot guarantee the security of your information and the use of our facilities (e.g. e-mail) is at your own risk.

Personal details we hold

We may hold your name, address, email address, phone number, travel details, our correspondence with you, proof of journey or other supporting information you may provide.

To ensure that we have an accurate record of dealings between us (and for training purposes) we may, in certain circumstances, record or monitor telephone calls, however you will always be told when this happens.

Where We Store Your Personal Information

The information that we collect from you will only be stored in the UK or a country which Data Protection Law deems provides an adequate level of protection (“permitted countries”) or, where it is necessary to disclose it to our processors located outside the permitted countries, other jurisdictions where appropriate legal and security safeguards are in place. Please contact the Data Protection Officer if you wish to find out more about the safeguards.

Information Security

We use a range of technical and organisational measures to safeguard access to and use of, your personal information and to ensure it retains its integrity and availability. These include structured access controls to systems, network protection, intrusion detection, physical access controls and staff training. We also consider anonymising or pseudonymising personal data where practical.

Consent

Where you give us consent:

  • we use data of some individuals to invite them to take part in market research.
  • we will send you direct marketing in relation to our relevant products and services, or other products and services provided by us;
  • we collect geolocation data when you use the app, to provide travel suggestions relevant to your area; and
  • we place cookies on our site and use similar technologies on the app – see the "Cookies & Trackers" section.

Withdrawing consent or otherwise objecting to direct marketing

Wherever we rely on your consent, you will always be able to withdraw that consent, although we may have other legal grounds for processing your data for other purposes, such as those set out above. In some cases, we are able to send you direct marketing without your consent, where we rely on our legitimate interests. In any case, you always have an absolute right to opt-out of direct marketing at any time. You can do this by following the instructions in the communication where this is an electronic message, or by contacting us using the details set out below.

What rights do I have?

You have the right to ask us for a copy of your personal data; We may need to ask for some further information, such as checking who you are. Our Customer Services team will email you a form, which will help us deal with your request more efficiently. Please let us know if you want to receive the information electronically or in a machine-readable format.

We aim to get the information to you without undue delay and within 30 days. If we have any trouble with this timeframe, we will let you know within 30 days and explain what the problem is. Sometimes we may hold information that we don’t have to provide, for example if it would prejudice a police investigation or contains someone else’s personal data.

In most cases we provide the copy of your data to you for free. We have set out some information about when it might not be free or provided below.

Rectification/Restriction

If you believe the information we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you can contact us and ask us to correct it. You may also request any data processing we are carrying out on your data is halted whilst a request for rectification or objection or a dispute over the lawfulness of processing is being considered.

We will provide a response confirming the action we have taken or disagree with taking within 30 days or provide a response within 30 days if the matter is complex and a further time is needed.

Deletion

This is also known as the “Right to be forgotten”, you can request deletion or removal of personal information in some circumstances, such as where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing.

We will provide a response to you without undue delay and within 30 days, confirming whether/what personal data we have deleted and/or explaining why we don’t agree that some data does not need to be deleted.

Withdrawal of Consent

If we relied on consent as the ground for processing your personal data, you can withdraw this consent at any time. It does not affect the processing carried out beforehand. You can withdraw your consent by contacting us directly, or by contacting our data protection officer. Where you have consented to receive direct marketing communications, you can withdraw your agreement at any time, as above or where available updating your preference centre or clicking on the appropriate link in the communication.

We will comply with your request without undue delay and within 30 days.

Objection

You also have a right to request that no further processing takes place in relation to some grounds of processing, such as for direct marketing.

We will respond to your request without undue delay and within 30 days, confirming the action we will or won’t take.

Portability

Where you have provided us with personal data and the reasons we are processing it are based on consent or our contract with you, and the processing is automated, you have a right to ask for that information be provided to you or another data controller in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. The right may be restricted if it is not practical for us to provide the information in this way or it adversely the rights of others.

If we are able to provide your personal data in this way, we will do so in 30 days or we will let you know within 30 days if we require more time or there are any issues with carrying out the request

In addition, you can object to the processing of your personal data in some circumstances (in particular, where we don’t have to process the data to meet a contractual or other legal requirement, or where we are using the data for direct marketing).

These rights may be limited, for example if fulfilling your request would reveal personal data about another person, or if you ask us to delete information which we are required by law to keep or have compelling legitimate interests in keeping.

To exercise any of these rights, you can get in touch with us – or our Data Protection Officer – using the details set out above. If you have unresolved concerns, you have the right to complain to a data protection authority where you live, work or where you believe a breach may have occurred. In the UK, this will be the Information Commissioner’s Office.

How we deal with rights requests

We will try to deal with your request without undue delay and at least within 30 days. In exceptional circumstances, we may need to extend the time to respond fully, if the request is particularly complex or there are multiple requests. But we will let you know within 30 days.

We are not able to charge you a fee for dealing with rights requests, unless they are manifestly unfounded or excessive or in circumstances where copies have been provided previously. We would always let you know if we thought this was the case, so that you can make a decision about what you wanted to do next.

There are various limitations and exemptions in relation to the exercise of rights in Data Protection Law - for example if it would affect another’s rights and freedoms or if we need to retain the information to make or defend a legal claim. We intend only to rely on limitations and exemptions where it is fair to do so and always bearing in mind that it is your personal data.

Complaints

If we don’t respond to within 30 days of your request or you are not happy with our response you can lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner Office or issue legal proceedings against us.

We hope that we can satisfy queries you may have about the way we process your data. If you are not satisfied with the way in which we have handled your complaint or rights request then you can contact the Data Protection Officer, at [email protected] or by writing to 22 Greencoat Place, London, SW1P 1PR.

If you are not satisfied with the response you can complain to the ICO. Their contact details are:

Head Office
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745 if you prefer to use a national rate number.

https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/

You also have the right to seek a judicial remedy, issue legal proceedings against us.

How long will you retain my data?

Where we process your data, as outlined in the ‘What information do we collect’ section of this policy, this may include your email address and other personal or usage information you provide to us, as well as information we collect automatically when you use our services., we do this for as long as you are an active user of our sites and for 6 years after this.

Where we process personal data for marketing purposes or with your consent, we process the data until you ask us to stop and for a short period after this (to allow us to implement your requests). We also keep a record of the fact that you have asked us not to send you direct marketing or to process your data indefinitely so that we can respect your request in future.

Where we process personal data for site security purposes, we retain it for 6 years.

We keep information collected from cookies and other trackers for 6 years.

Where we process personal data in connection with ticket purchases, we keep the data for 6 years from your last interaction with us.