Privacy Policy

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its Subsidiary and Affiliated Agencies' Internet Privacy Policy

Overview

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its subsidiary and affiliated agencies, MTA Metro-North Railroad, MTA Long Island Rail Road, MTA New York City Transit, MTA Bridges and Tunnels, and MTA Capital Construction (collectively the "MTA Agencies") are committed to protecting your privacy when you use the MTA Website (the "MTA Website"). Consistent with the provisions of the New York State Internet Security and Privacy Act, the New York State Freedom of Information Law, and the New York State Personal Privacy Protection Law, this Policy describes the MTA Agencies’ privacy practices regarding information collected from users of the MTA Website.

This Policy describes what information is collected when you access the MTA Website and how that information is used. Because this Policy only applies to the MTA Website itself and not linked websites, you should examine the privacy policy of any other websites that you access from the MTA Website.

Please carefully read this Policy before submitting any personal information, including your e-mail address, for notification of service updates, initiating an online transaction, providing information with respect to employment opportunities, or for any other reason. Please note that this Policy may change from time to time without special notice to you, so please check back to review the most recent version of this Policy.

For purposes of this Policy, "personal information" means any information concerning a natural person, which, because of a name, number, symbol, mark, or other identifier, can be used to identify that natural person. The MTA Agencies only collect personal information about you when you provide that information voluntarily by sending an e-mail, initiating an online transaction, or submitting information for employment purposes. The information that is available to us from your visit to an MTA Website depends upon which sections of the Website you visit and what actions you take during such visit.

Information Collected Automatically When You Visit the MTA Website

The MTA Agencies monitor MTA Website user traffic and patterns, and automatically collect certain non-personal information about your visit such as the internet domain name from which you access the MTA Website, the type of browser and operating system you used, the date and time of your visit, the pages you visit, and the referring website address, if any. This information is used to improve the content of the MTA Website and to help the MTA Agencies understand how users are interacting with the MTA Website. This information is not collected for commercial marketing purposes and the MTA Agencies will not sell or otherwise disclose the information collected from the MTA Website for commercial marketing purposes.

Cookies and Web Beacons

The MTA Agencies may use cookies to track how you visit certain pages on the MTA Website. The use of cookies is a standard practice among Internet websites. Cookies are small amounts of data that are sent to your browser from our web servers and are stored on your computer’s hard drive, not on our site. Cookies collect information that includes the server your computer is logged into and your browser type. Cookies used in connection with the MTA Website do not retrieve any other data from your hard drive, or capture your e-mail address or any other personal information. Accepting cookies is required if you want to use certain of the MTA Website functions because they are essential for site administration and security.

From time to time, MTA also may use web beacons, alone or in conjunction with cookies, to determine what MTA ads your browser is shown, what ads you click and other actions you take on the Internet, to help us better provide relevant products, services and information to you and to help us effectively measure advertising effectiveness.   We also collect information on our website through the use of web beacons or 1x1 pixels.   A web beacon is a transparent 1x1 pixel image that has been placed on a web page and sends a signal when a user has visited that page. A web beacon does not contain any personal information. No information that is personally identifiable to you is transmitted to the third party using the web beacon. The third party is required to protect the privacy of the information it receives using Web beacons or cookies and is not allowed to use the information it receives for any purpose beyond what is necessary to assist us.  We do not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise distribute information about you gathered through the web beacons or pixels with any third parties.

Information Collected When You E-mail the MTA Website, Initiate an Online Transaction, or Submit Information For Employment Purposes

During your visit to the MTA Website, you may place an order for goods or services, submit an inquiry, and/or submit information concerning opportunities for employment. The information, including personal information, volunteered by you in initiating such transactions is used by one or more of the MTA Agencies to provide you with goods, services, and information or to undertake the employment review process. The information collected by one or more of the MTA Agencies may be shared among them and disclosed by them for those purposes that may be reasonably ascertained from the nature and terms of the transaction in connection with which the information was submitted. The information is not collected for commercial marketing purposes and the MTA Agencies will not sell or otherwise disclose the information collected from the MTA Website for commercial marketing purposes.

The MTA Agencies do not collect any personal information about you during your visit to the MTA Website unless you provide that information voluntarily by sending an e-mail or initiating an online transaction such as filling out a registration or completing an order form, or for purposes of employment. You may choose not to send us an e-mail, register online for a service, complete an online order form, or submit information for employment purposes. While your choice not to participate in these activities may limit your ability to receive specific services or products through the MTA Website, it will not prevent you from requesting services or products from the MTA Agencies by other means and will normally not have an impact on your ability to take advantage of other features of the MTA Website, including browsing or downloading most publicly available information.

The MTA Agencies do not knowingly collect personal information from children or create profiles of children through the MTA Website. Users are cautioned, however, that the collection of personal information submitted in an e-mail or through an online transaction will be treated as though it was submitted by an adult, and may, unless exempted by federal or state law, be subject to public access. The MTA Agencies strongly encourage parents and teachers to be involved in children's Internet activities and to provide guidance whenever children are requested or otherwise have the opportunity to provide personal information online.

Disclosure of Information Collected Through The MTA Website

The collection of information through the MTA Website and the disclosure of that information are subject to the provisions of the New York State Internet Security and Privacy Act. The MTA Agencies will only collect personal information through the MTA Website or disclose personal information collected through the MTA Website if the user has consented to the collection or disclosure of such personal information or under the circumstances described below. The voluntary disclosure of personal information to the MTA Agencies by the user, including participation in an online transaction, whether solicited or unsolicited, constitutes consent to the collection and disclosure of the information by the MTA Agencies for the purposes reasonably ascertainable from the nature and terms of the disclosure.

However, the MTA Agencies may collect or disclose personal information without user consent if the collection or disclosure is: (1) necessary to perform the statutory duties of the MTA Agencies, or necessary for the MTA Agencies to operate a program authorized by law, or authorized by state or federal statute or regulation; (2) made pursuant to a court order or required by law; (3) required for the purpose of validating the identity of the user; or (4) of information to be used solely for statistical purposes that is in a form that cannot be used to identify any particular person.

Further, the disclosure of information, including personal information, collected through the MTA Website is subject to the provisions of the New York State Freedom of Information Law and the New York State Personal Privacy Protection Law.

The MTA Agencies may disclose personal information to federal or state or local law enforcement authorities to enforce the MTA Agencies’ rights against unauthorized access or attempted unauthorized access to the MTA Agencies’ information technology assets or against other inappropriate use of the MTA Website or other MTA property.

Retention of Information Collected Through the MTA Website

The information collected through the MTA Website is retained by the MTA Agencies in accordance with the applicable records retention and disposition requirements of New York law. Information concerning these records retention and disposition schedules may be obtained at http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/records/mr_pub_mi1_part1.shtml and by contacting the MTA Website’s Privacy Compliance Officer listed below.

Access to and Correction of Personal Information Collected Through the MTA Website

Any user may submit a request to the MTA Website’s Privacy Compliance Officer to determine whether personal information pertaining to that user has been collected and retained through the MTA Website. Any such request shall be made in writing to the address below and must be accompanied by reasonable proof of identity of the user. Reasonable proof of identity may include verification of a signature, inclusion of an identifier generally known only to the user, or other appropriate identification. Such a request should be mailed to the MTA Website Privacy Compliance Officer:

 

MTA Website Privacy Compliance Officer
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
2 Broadway, Room C4.64
New York, New York 10004

 

The MTA Website Privacy Compliance Officer shall, within (5) business days of the date of the receipt of a proper request: (i) provide access to the personal information; (ii) deny access in writing, explaining the reasons therefore; or (iii) acknowledge the receipt of the request in writing, stating the approximate date when the request will be granted or denied, which date shall not be more than thirty (30) days from the date of the acknowledgment.

In the event that the MTA Agencies have collected and retained personal information pertaining to a user through the MTA Website and that information is to be provided to the user pursuant to the user's request, the MTA Agencies shall inform the user of his or her right to request that the personal information be amended or corrected under the procedures set forth in Section 95 of the New York Public Officers Law.

Confidentiality and Integrity of Personal Information Collected Through the MTA Website

The MTA Agencies are strongly committed to protecting personal information collected through the MTA Website against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Consequently, the MTA Agencies limit employee access to personal information collected through the MTA Website to only those employees who need access to the information in the performance of their official duties. Employees who have access to this information are required to maintain its confidentiality and disclose it only as permitted under this Policy.

In addition, the MTA Agencies have implemented procedures to safeguard the integrity of their information technology assets, including, but not limited to, authenticating, monitoring, auditing, and encrypting. Security procedures have been integrated into the design, implementation, and day-to-day operations of the MTA Website as part of our continuing commitment to the security of electronic content as well as the electronic transmission of information.

As an additional security measure, many areas of the MTA Website require the use of a User ID and Password to help protect your confidential information. This allows the MTA Agencies to verify who you are, thereby allowing you access to your account information, and preventing unauthorized access. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and account, and agree to immediately notify the MTA Agencies of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security.

For website security purposes and to maintain the availability of the MTA Website for all users, the MTA Agencies employ software to monitor traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise damage the MTA Website.

One or more of the MTA Agencies have retained independent contractors or third party service providers to perform special contract functions in connection with the MTA Website, including, but not limited to, providing e-commerce services, computer programming, storing and managing customer information, processing transactions, and providing advice about and support of our products and services. As users navigate the MTA Website, they may not be able to identify which services are provided by such contractors or providers and which services are provided directly by the MTA Agencies. These third-party contractors or service providers may obtain and store and/or process your personal information on their own computer systems. The contracts between the MTA Agencies and these entities require them to treat your personal information securely.

Links

In order to provide users with certain information, the MTA Agencies provide links to the websites of local, State, and federal government agencies, and to the websites of other public and private organizations. A link does not constitute an endorsement of the content, viewpoint, accuracy, opinions, policies, products, services, or accessibility of that website. Once you link from the MTA Website to another website you are subject to the terms and conditions of that website, including, but not limited to, its Internet privacy policy, if any.

Disclaimer

The information provided in this Policy should not be construed as giving business, legal, or other advice, or warranting as fail proof, the security of information provided through the MTA Website.

Contact Information

For questions regarding this Policy, please contact the MTA Website Privacy Compliance Officer via email

or by mail to:

MTA Website Privacy Compliance Officer
Office of General Counsel
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
2 Broadway
New York, New York 10004